In The Blue Dark
by Avandra the Mary Sue Slayer
Summary: Nothing should be taken for granted... especially people. BBxRae. Raven releases her first single.
1. That old-fashioned nostalgia

**I've decided to republish this story from the beginning so you can all enjoy it as if it was new. Don't be shy to leave reviews, any feedback will be appreciated.**

Chapter one: That old-fashioned nostalgia

She felt it again. It had been some time since this started; since Beast Boy's encounter with the amnesiac Terra, to be more precise. She first didn't pay too much attention to it, after all, it was just like the former Titan said: things change. Besides, she believed in change, in the constant turning of everything, and eventual eternity, endless circles that repeated themselves over and over again. She kind of liked it, that idea of everything being eternal and never, ever, coming to an end. Constant, but changing.

But what if she was wrong?

As a half-demon, Raven did hold some knowledge about the afterlife, but she could never be sure. What if things did come to an end, and once it was over, it was just over?

Then something caught her attention. It was the chicken plush that Beast Boy had won for her at the Jump City festival. After saving Starfire that night, she went back to retrieve it once she was sure no one would notice. She took the plush and the feeling returned.

The good old days, when everything began...

She was just seventeen and yet she felt much older. It could sometimes be disturbing to see how everything changed in just a couple of years. She was starting to understand her green teammate's feelings.

Memories of her life, how it was in Azarath, poured down on her. The skyscrapers, bright like gold and silver and precious stones under the soft sunlight, always floating in that sea of clouds that was her dimension. People there wore robes and practiced extreme diplomacy that she was also taught, since her being an Azarathean meant she would have to embrace their pacifist ways. She didn't complain, though.

Then she met the Titans. At first she was scared; scared of all the emotions she started to feel. Earth was frenetic, moving, dangerous but alive. And people were just the same, and her teammates were no exception. They made her feel as if she was just the same. As if they were flames in the dark. But she couldn't just let go; she was too dangerous. So she secluded herself from their warmth, neglecting the growing feelings inside of her... until they could be denied no longer and she just restrained their intensity so nothing bad happened to her newfound friends.

They lived all sorts of experiences together. The initial awkwardness of meeting someone for the first time. The fights. The laughs she refused to share. Friendship. Worry for her friends' well being. Her first crush that she immediately turned into her punching bag, afraid of what she might do to him if she came to terms with her feelings for him. Anger, sadness, joy, betrayal, fear, fun...

But mostly happiness.

So many things changed, little by little... At first they were just a bunch of kids that people considered as freaks, then they started to like them when they saw what they could actually do. But the Teen Titans had to earn people's trust, specially since Terra's and Brother Blood's incidents, that made civilians wonder if those kids would actually remain by their side and protect them. They could have become living legends due to their fight against Trigon, weren't it for the world missing it completely. But with their actions against the Brotherhood of Evil and their later travel to Tokyo, they finally achieved glory.

Glory, that was exactly what had changed Raven's life the most. More than their new matter-absorbing enemy, more than Slade's return, more than amnesic schoolgirl Terra, more than her growing love for Beast Boy, more than their favorite pizza place closing. More than anything she had known before.

At first she was a creep and suddenly everybody loved her. Of course they liked her friends too, but she became unexpectedly popular. Girls in Jump City dyed their hair violet. Guys sent her love letters. And then that letter... That letter that could definitely change everything and put her life upside down...

She took it from her table. She would show it to the others; she really felt that she had to. After all, they were her friends; they deserved to know. So she got out of her room, ready to say the truth. She crossed the door to the common room. All her friends were there. All of them seemed happy to see her. As usual. She thought of the possibility of never seeing those happy expressions again and her heart skipped one bit. She was being offered something she had secretly desired all her life, but it would mean that she would no longer be a superhero, at least not temporarily. She wouldn't see her friends for a long time...

...Just when that thought reached her mind as she was about to speak, the familiar feeling of that old-fashioned nostalgia for a bright past struck her again. It took her a while to recover and be able to talk again.

"I think you should all read this" Raven said in a low voice.

She went to the couch where her friends were gathered for one of Cyborg and Beast Boy's usual gaming competitions. The girl handed the letter to Robin, who cleared his throat and proceeded to read it aloud.

Dear Miss Raven;

My name is George Stewart, talent scout from Jump Up Records. I was assigned to Tokyo at the same time you were there in order to search for some new talent that matched my company's needs for an exotic new singing star. What I did not expect is that I would find the right person in a Harajuku karaoke bar. I am talking about you, Raven. I am sure you noticed how everybody froze in the moment you sang your song. Your voice is everything I had been looking for: sweet but powerful, nostalgic yet brand new, all in accord with your appearance. And your technique, while still far from perfect, is already quite good, with no false notes. I could not help but record your singing and show it at Jump Up's headquarters. The company is really interested in working with you, and so I am writing now this letter to offer you a chance to become a living legend. Please let me discuss this proposal with you in a personal meeting in the Carmen café there in Jump City, the 8th of June. I have chosen that date so as to give you some time to reflect about this letter's content. I really hope to receive a positive answer.

I look forward to see you in person.

Yours sincerely,

George Stewart.

Everyone in the tower went dead silent. A silence that was quickly broken by Beast Boy's laughter.

"Dude, I can't believe what I've just heard! Raven, a pop star? Hey, Rae, take me with you to your meeting with that dude, I can't wait to see you sending him into another dimension!"

"Actually... I still don't know what to answer"

The silence came back.

"WHAT?" was everything Cyborg could say.

The girl blushed lightly.

"I know this is stupid, but I had always wanted to be, you know... a singer. I remember how much I loved the Azarathean chants when I was a child... I would always sing along, hoping that one day I would be the one singing for the people... I guess I never really gave up hope..." she whispered, the slightest trail of nostalgia in her voice.

She remembered the choirs in Azarath. They got together and sang at the streets. There were also soloists. Their chants were magical and angelic; she was always hypnotized by the beauty of their voices and secretly wished hers was that brilliant.

The voice of one of her friends pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Raven, you do know that if you choose to work for Jump Up Records you'll have to give up being a Teen Titan, don't you?" Robin asked, frowning a bit.

"I know... That's why I have to give it some deep thought. I'll answer Mr. Stewart in our meeting" the appointed replied "Don't worry, that won't interfere with my duties as a Titan; I will still go on missions, especially now that we have a new enemy"

"But friend Raven, that may only last until the 8th of June. If you decide to devote your life to singing, we will not see each other again... am I correct?"

The Azarathean looked at her alien friend. Her green eyes full of sadness were on the verge of tears. Guilt struck the empath as she answered.

"Of course not! We would keep in touch and I'd visit you whenever I could. And don't forget I haven't decided yet, so please don't act as if I was going to leave for sure"

Starfire shook her head.

"Friend Raven, it is a dream what we are talking about... For me, it is sure that you will leave"

The Tamaranean couldn't bear staying there looking at how her best friend was slipping away from her life. She ran (since her sadness wouldn't let her fly) out of the common room. Any verbal attempts from her friends to stop her went on deaf ears.

The one who provoked that reaction in the girl sighed deeply.

"If you need me, I'll be in my room"

* * *

The three male Titans just stood, unable to say a word. They didn't imagine something like that could happen, not after Starfire's almost-wedding with Glgrdsklechhh. So used they were to see each other as family that they failed to realize there were no real boundaries between them, and that any day, their union could come to an end. And now they had to face the possibility of something like that coming true. From that point, the thoughts of the three youngsters went different ways, drifting away from each other's.

Beast Boy was the one who, again, broke the now excruciatingly painful silence.

"Dudes... What do you think she'll do? Is Rae going to leave us?"

The other two looked down, not daring to answer.

"Well..." Cyborg started "I must say I didn't expect this, I mean, who would have thought our Raven would want to be a singer, especially after watching how you, BB, had to drag her to the karaoke bar's stage?"

"I know... I guess that was because of her shyness. Hey" the changeling said, now with an enthusiastic expression "What if she doesn't dare trying it out? Maybe there's a chance that she'll stay with us after all..."

Robin frowned, not sure of what to say.

"Let's hope so... I understand that her interests may go beyond us, and I will respect her decision whatever it will be, but I won't be happy at all if she chooses to quit; she's not only a really valuable teammate, but also a friend I really trust..."

The Boy Wonder sighed. He didn't look like his usual self, confident that everything would be okay. He didn't know how things would turn out anymore.

"I'll go check on Starfire"

The two remaining teens remained silent for a bit, lost in thought.

"Hey, B" Cyborg finally muttered "do you think Star's right? Is Raven going to leave us?"

The changeling shook his head.

"I have no idea..."

More silence that was becoming heavier and heavier.

"Hey, do you think this could be, you know, the beginning of the end?" the tall man asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you remember that alternate timeline in which we all split up because of Star's disappearance? What if it now happens again?"

Beast Boy jokingly punched his friend's arm.

"Come on, dude! You're being paranoid! I don't think that'll ever happen, we learnt from that, didn't we?" he exclaimed, suddenly confident "Besides, we still don't even know if Rae's leaving or not, and even if she did I'm sure we'd keep in touch. There's no reason for any of us to quit"

"I don't know, grass stain... Until now we all thought Raven had no reason to quit either"

"She just has a childhood dream she wants to make come true now that she has the chance... I don't think that would happen to us; think about Rob for example, do you think he'd want to be anything more than a hero?"

"I don't know, BB..." the half-robot replied, unable to share his best friend's optimism.

* * *

Meanwhile, Robin silently entered Starfire's room. As he had predicted, his girlfriend was there, lying on her bed with her back to him. He heard faint sobs.

"Star..."

She slowly sat up and turned to see him. Indeed, her tearful face gave away her feelings.

"Boyfriend Robin... Are you going to tell me off for my behavior?"

He crossed the room to get by her side and knelt down beside her.

"No. I was just worried"

The princess looked away.

"For what? There is nothing you can do to revert this situation"

"I know, but I still want to make you feel better"

"Feel better?" she replied with anger "There is no way that I could feel better about losing my best friend!"

He raised one of his gloved hands and caressed her tanned cheek in a comforting manner.

"I think you're anticipating too much. What if she says no?"

"She will not say no, boyfriend Robin"

"Why wouldn't she?"

The one named Koriand'r finally looked back at her beloved, tears running down her face once more.

"Because of the same reason I did not stay in Tamaran when I became the Grand Ruler"

The hero looked intensely at her, and then did something she didn't expect: he took off his mask so she could stare into his blue eyes. He obviously had already told her everything about his secret identity.

"Listen" he firmly said "Raven is Raven and you are you. You may have some things in common, but you're definitely not the same. I won't lie to you: I also think it's quite possible that she leaves. But even if she does" he sat on the bed by his girlfriend and wrapped an arm around her "it won't be the end of our friendship. If she didn't abandon us when she became the Portal, she won't do it now"

"Are you sure?" the alien girl asked.

"I've never been so sure" Robin replied, smiling warmly at her. Starfire hesitated for a moment, then threw herself into his arms. As usual, her embrace almost strangled the Boy Wonder, but he didn't let go of her.

"You are right... I have been blinded by my fear of losing her, and I have been unfair with her. I shall now go to apologize..."

The girl didn't finish the sentence, since her boyfriend pulled her back down when she was about to get up from the bed.

"That's a good idea Star, but before that, could you stay here with me for a while?" he softly requested while wrapping again his arm around her shoulders "I was worried about you"

The Tamaranean just smiled at him and they leaned in, kissing softly. Make out sessions with some sweet words always worked wonders on the couple, no matter if they had had an argument or if it was something else, like it was now happening. Caresses and kisses took their worries and fears away like nothing had before. Cyborg and Beast Boy would always joke about the pair, who were officially named the "love birds" of the tower, but being on the beginning of what they hoped it would be a life-long relationship, they couldn't care less.

* * *

Raven was sitting on her desk, trying to read one of her ancient books. It was of no use, she couldn't concentrate on it, so she decided to meditate before her overflowing emotions made her blow up the whole tower. It was then when she heard a knock on the door.

"Friend Raven? I would like to speak to you"

She immediately opened the door, instantly recognizing the voice. Her best friend stood now in front of her, waves of regret emanating from her, hitting the empath's mind.

"Yes?" she quietly asked.

"I would like to ask for your apologize for my rude display when talking about the proposition from Jump Up Records" the red-haired hastily said. She was noticeably nervous.

"Uh... it's okay"

"No, really, I am very sorry" she insisted "and I profoundly regret my behavior. I understand that you have not yet performed the 'making up of the mind' and that whatever your decision will be, it is my duty as a friend to respect it and wish you the best" she solemnly finished.

They looked at each other for a few seconds, saying nothing. Starfire didn't easily get troubled, but her friend's eyes had the most piercing look she had ever seen, it was as if they could reach into her soul and scan it. The princess wasn't uncomfortable about her friend knowing about her emotions, but it still felt strange... her empathy made her imposing to her green eyes.

"Is that all?" was everything the Azarathean said. And it was more than enough to make her sister-friend spill the beans.

"No... Friend Raven, I already told you; I am scared of losing you" she replied, not daring to look again into the violet eyes in front of her "If you choose to follow your dreams, I do not know if I will be able to feel happy for you"

"I understand" the other girl finally said, her expression warming up a bit "I don't know how I'd feel if it was you who was leaving... but if I don't stay, I'll make sure to keep in touch with all of you, I promise" she offered the alien girl her pale hand.

"Friend Raven..."

Starfire's tanned hand took Raven's and she pulled her into one of her bone-crushing hugs. The tallest girl was sobbing lightly.

"Even if we are galaxies away from each other, you will always be my best friend, I promise!"

They stayed like that for a while. Being heroines didn't give them the time to make many new friends, so they had grown really close to each other. None of them would ever forget what the other meant for her. Their friendship was strong enough to overcome any obstacle they may face, even their feared "drifting".

That night, Raven had a strange dream. She was wearing a white lacy dress and singing at the Harajuku karaoke bar. Her audience consisted of Slade, who was clapping politely, and a tall gothic girl with a silver ankh necklace sitting beside a girl with brown dressed in blue. Then everything exploded, blinding her... and then she saw nothing.

* * *

The next day the Titans went into regular crime fighting and once again they encountered the matter-absorbing creature. Once again, nothing they used against it worked... until Raven hit it with a dark energy blast. It clearly damaged the creature.

"Of course!" Robin exclaimed, realizing what they had been missing "It can't absorb an energy blast, only the matter surrounding it! Titans, hit it with all you've got!"

Starfire mercilessly threw starbolts and eye beams, Cyborg shot his sonic cannon, Raven chanted her mantra and threw another dark blast, and Robin threw two of his explosive disks. The coordinate attacks coming from different directions were impossible to avoid, even for that fast shape-shifting being. It resulted visibly damaged by the assault, and Beast Boy took this opportunity to morph into a T-Rex and make a slide attack with his tail. Thus, the mysterious creature was destroyed. The five heroes cheered to their success. The leader's expression quickly darkened. He got close to the remains of their foe. It was disintegrating.

"What was this thing? Where did it come from?"

Neither the celebration of their victory nor the peace and quiet that followed calmed the Boy Wonder, and his thoughts remained with that strange enemy. And thus, the days passed without him noticing, while his partners got more and more nervous, not only for the dreadful 8th of June coming close, but for his more and more reclusive demeanor that much resembled the one he showed when Slade was around.

And finally, the day came. The first thing Raven did was to tell her friends about her decision. Then she flew out of the tower, heading for Carmen café. She knew the place, since it was one of her favorites. Contrary to what her teammates thought, her depressing cafés were not gothic; actually, the music that played in them was blues. This specific café was named after one of the girl's favorite blues singer, an old diva called Carmen Garland.

She entered the place. It had that fancy vintage look from old cafés. She stood up, waiting. She didn't know how George Stewart looked, but she figured he would recognize her even if she was wearing civilian clothes. Her taste in clothes through time had changed as much as herself; at first, like Jinx once pointed out, everything she had was blue... or just dark. She wore really sober clothes, and always used either dark blue or black. Slowly, she incorporated white to her wardrobe, and then some colors and more feminine forms, even getting to put on some skirts and dresses from time to time, for Starfire's delight, though nothing too bright or fancy. On this occasion, she matched the place she was at quite well; with a black dress with some discrete flower patterns. Her hair also looked different: she had been convinced by her best friend to grow it longer, and now it reached past her shoulders. The reason for her not wanting to let her hair long was that, due to her metahuman nature, it grew up faster than normal, so she had to cut its ends every week to avoid it getting too long.

She was about to pick a seat when she heard someone calling her.

"Miss Raven?" the waiter called her from behind the bar "That man over there asked me to tell him when you arrived. Excuse me, sir, she's here"

"Wonderful, thank you! Please, Miss Raven, come and sit with me"

The man who talked to her was in his late forties, or maybe his early fifties. He was tall, and he appeared to be in quite good physical shape. He was wearing an elegant gray suit. But the most noticeable thing about him was the wooden cane he was carrying and his black sunglasses covering his obviously blind eyes.

She sat down beside him and shook hands with him while they said hello and introduced themselves. After some other brief and void formalities, they started the talk they were there for.

"I'm glad to see you here. For all this time since I wrote that letter I feared you wouldn't come. I must say I'm still a bit nervous now. But let's get straight to the point; please, tell me your decision. Will you work for Jump Up, or will you resume your activities as a heroine?"

The girl took a deep breath before answering.

"I accept your offer, Mr. Stewart"

 **I'm making some minor changes to the story, but none will truly affect the plot. In this case, I've fused the first two chapters together. I hope you like this story and that you follow it until it's done. See you!**


	2. A losing game

**Here's the second chap. I've deleted something in it and now it's in the recycle bin, waiting to be reused for my next story. I really hope you like it. Don't forget your reviews, they're the only way I can know that you've liked the story.**

 _Chapter two: a losing game_

Once home, Raven explained everyone that she'd be discussing and signing her contract on July 2nd, so she'd leave that day in the morning. Robin then decided he needed a suitable substitute for her. He called all honorary Titans and even Titans East, but he always received negative responses. It turned out that they all were too busy at the time.

"Guess we'll have to search for someone new"

After a few days of searching on his superheroes database, he found a candidate.

She went by Pythia. She was a superheroine from New Orleans who seemed to have premonitions and hypnotizing powers, apart from being quite capable in hand-to-hand combat. The Boy Wonder and Cyborg immediately got ready to visit the girl, leaving Raven in charge.

The girl was really nice, and she seemed eager to work in a bigger city with more opportunities, since New Orleans only meant regular crime fighting, as there were no supervillains there.

Unfortunately, Raven disliked her in the moment she set foot on the tower.

She had come to be introduced to her soon-to-be-teammates, earning a bone-crushing hug from Starfire and friendly greetings from Beast Boy, to which she responded with shameless flirting and the most stupid giggling Raven had heard since the Titans met Kitten. The sorceress was glad when the girl went back to her city, but she knew that peace wouldn't last long.

What could she do about it? Her secret love interest didn't seem upset about the newbie's attitude; on the contrary, he looked quite flattered by the brown-haired heroine. Besides, she would be leaving by the end of the month... and it was stupid to even think of it. For him, she was just a friend. Maybe her older sister. If he ever found out about her feelings for him, he'd probably consider them plain gross. Not that she could blame him, actually.

She had never been able to tell him the truth; doing it now that she was leaving would be plain ridiculous. There was nothing she could gain and lots of things she could lose. That left her with no choice but to do absolutely nothing about it and hope that one day, she'd overcome those feelings that hurt like daggers.

Some days after the meeting, the Titans decided to go to the Jump City Fair. It always started on June 21st, to greet the summer that was coming. Robin and Starfire stuck with the group, but only for a little. They immediately went into "couple mode" and went their own way, oblivious to their friends. It was actually annoying for the remaining three; there was no way to spent some quality time with them now.

However, they decided to shrug it off and have some fun on their own. Of course, that left Raven out of the question. She "didn't do fun". They remaining two knew she was lying, so they took her with them anyway. This time, Beast Boy promised himself he wouldn't screw it by winning a chicken plush for her. He'd get her something better.

* * *

"...a cat?" Raven raised her eyebrow in mild surprise.

"Not an ordinary cat, a giant plush kitty, the most adorable you'll ever find!" Cyborg announced happily while a proud Beast Boy handed her the massive plush.

"I noticed you like kitties" he told her.

"Well... I mean isn't this too big?"

"Let me hold it for you then" the boy answered, taking hold of the cute plushie. When he turned, he saw Cyborg cheerily talking to a rather nice girl. He couldn't help but smiling.

"Let's leave those two alone" he announced while taking Raven's hand.

The sorceress didn't bother to protest at his daring actions, since she agreed with him that it was best to leave their friend alone with that girl in case he got lucky. Besides, that gave her an excuse to hold hands with her love interest.

"What about we go there?" he asked.

"The ferris wheel? Are you sure?" the Azarathean asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's not like I could get into the roller-coaster with this" Beast Boy shook the kitty plush a little, smiling playfully.

Raven didn't know what led her to accept, but there she was, up in the ferris wheel, with Beast Boy and a cat plush as her company. She found out it wasn't all that wrong. Actually, she liked being beside him. It was going to be tough to say goodbye...

"Raven?" she heard his voice in the distance.

"Uh... sorry, I was lost in thought... what were you saying?"

Beast Boy opened his mouth to talk, but he got interrupted by the summer-welcoming fireworks. The ferris wheel stopped so all its users could admire the spectacle above them. The pair on the highest cabin were dead quiet, gazing at the colorful fireworks dancing in the night sky, making dozens of different forms that ranged from flowers to hearts to something completely abstract, but not less beautiful. They never knew who did it, or what brought them into something like that, but they found themselves holding hands.

And then, as soon as it began, the beautiful show ended. And thus they became aware of their physical contact and quickly retreated, least the other one notice.

Then, their cabin started to lower down. They'd soon be touching ground.

"Raven?"

"Yes?"

"I couldn't ask you this before, but... would you mind if... we went out some of this last days you're staying... you know... the two of us?"

He could barely utter the words. The poor changeling was red as a tomato. But his violet-haired friend wasn't any different.

"Beast Boy? Are you... asking me out?"

"NONONONONONONO- okay, maybe but IN A FRIENDLY WAY!" he blurted out, getting even redder.

"I see..." she whispered, the tiniest hint of sadness in her voice. "I'm leaving soon so I guess it won't kill me"

"Really?" Beast Boy didn't bother to hide the excitement he was feeling.

Raven couldn't help but smiling lightly. She silently nodded. They got down of the ferris wheel at the sound of Beast Boy's "SWEEEET!" exclamation. His teammate rolled her eyes, though deep inside, she was just as excited as he was. Then she remembered something that made her happy bubble explode. She gently tugged at one of her friend's pointed ears.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Discretion. These... meetings will take place at night, and we're NOT going to any place where we can be seen in public, understood?"

"No, of course I don't get it! Why do you want to do that?" he asked, upset.

"Because I don't want the press on our butts, theorizing about our relationship. Is that alright for you?"

He tilted his head. There was no denying that she was right; the press would eat them both alive. There had already been some news from gossip magazines qualifying them as a presumed couple.

"Alright. I guess we have no option"

It wasn't nearly as much as any of them truly wanted, but it was more than enough for both, thinking as they did that none of them reciprocated their romantic feelings for each other.

The following day came, along with their first not-a-date. Raven grew anxious. While she had developed a fine taste for clothes, she had never been too much of a girly girl, and adding that to the fact that she had never had a date before (she didn't count that boring goth boy, as the experience had proven tedious enough for her not to call him ever again), she soon started to panic. So she resolved to ask for help and advice from a professional.

The professional in question almost hugged her to death when she heard the words "date" and "Beast Boy" together in one sentence pronounced by the poor empath. She quickly gave up on trying to explain to the ecstatic alien that it was no romantic date. The Tamaranean rummaged through the sorceress' clothes until she found something that she considered "fitting".

"Put this on, friend Raven, and I will do the rest" she solemnly declared.

The Azarathean wasn't exactly sure about her best friend's choice. She didn't even recall buying something like that. It was a white, flowing sundress. The kind of clothes that still made her feel "weird". But, fearing the mighty arms of her friend, more than able to undress her and force her into the garments (probably killing her by accident in the process), she decided to try it on.

She did look weird. However, Starfire was squealing in glee, convinced that the dress made Raven look "glorious".

"Now, please let the professional do her work" she announced.

The princess made her friend sit at a chair and quickly did her hair and put some makeup on her face. Raven had never been at a hairdresser's, but she thought that Starfire was quite proficient at the job. When she was done, she led Raven to her full-length mirror, making her gasp in surprise at her reflection.

She had to admit that she looked stunning.

Her attire wasn't overdone at all. Her dress was very simple, so it had been ornated by a flower diadema that Star had put on Raven's long hair, not before curling it into soft waves. As for her makeup, she only wore the tiniest hint of eyeliner and a bright red lipstick. She actually smiled when she saw that her alien friend hadn't been able to resist the temptation to do her manicure, drawing subtle red patterns on her nails. She wore no accessories and she had plain white ballerinas on her feet.

"Star... it's wonderful" was all she could say. "Thanks a lot"

"You are very welcome, my friend"

Both girls smiled at each other. It was going to be hard to go on without the other, but they knew that their friendship was way stronger than the distance the world could put between them.

After a while, Raven said goodbye to Starfire and headed to the roof, where Beast Boy was waiting for her. Before she left her room, she stared into her two plushies one last time, a warm smile adorning her face.

When she finally made it to the roof, she was greeted by Beast Boy. He was also wearing civilian clothes, and the girl had to admit that he looked really good: he had some blue jeans on, a white shirt (Beast Boy, a shirt? Did he have the flu or something?) and white trainers. He had also done his hair -he had probably stolen some of Robin's gel to get the work done. Since it was a hot night, none of them wore a jacket.

"Rae... you look awesome!" he exclaimed the moment he saw her.

"It's Raven. You don't look so bad yourself" she replied.

They went silent for a moment. The empath decided to speak before things went awkward.

"Well... where are you taking me, then?"

The changeling grinned.

"You'll see! Follow me!"

He ran to the edge of the rooftop when she stopped him. He eyed her questioningly.

"I could get both of us there if you told me where to go. That way, you wouldn't get tired" she offered.

"Since when are you so nice?" The teen inquired, without really thinking about what he just said.

Raven's scowl did prevent him to just be grateful and shut up, though.

* * *

The girl couldn't hide her surprise when Beast Boy took her to the T-ship.

"Are you sure about this?"

"There are really nice views at night, I thought we should try it" he answered.

Still doubting it was a good idea, the sorceress went into her canopy, only to be stopped by her teammate.

"Why don't we get into Robin's? It has the best views!"

Completely convinced that it would be a really bad idea... Raven obliged.

Robin's cabin had room for two people, but since it was meant for just one person to fit in, there was only one seat, which meant they'd have to sit really close. He kept it that way so Starfire could go in and cuddle with him. It was awkward, having to sit so close with their thighs touching, but it wasn't truly uncomfortable for either of the visitors.

The T-ship took off and crossed the dark sea. There was almost a full moon, which lighted the place with aid from the stars. The sight was impressive.

And there they were, a half-demon and a changeling, lost in the horizon. Whatever awaited them in the future didn't really matter. The only important thing in that moment was that they were together. Raven wished for that moment to last forever.

And yet, it didn't. After a good while, they had to get the ship back to the tower, least Cyborg found out about their nocturnal activities. Luckily, no one noticed their entrance.

The pair quickly flew back to the roof. A couple of hours had passed since they left for their not-a-date. Beast Boy was the first to talk.

"Uh... have you noticed that we didn't say anything at all in all the time we spent at the ship?"

His friend nodded.

"I'm sorry if it was boring..."

"Oh, nonononononononono!" the changeling waved his arms like crazy, obviously startled, not wanting her to think wrong. "It was great, really. I hope you want to... you know... hang out with me again"

"I would love that" the empath answered, smiling softly.

"Sweet!" the boy exclaimed, jumping a bit in excitement.

Raven kept on smiling even after they both went to their respective rooms. She knew it wasn't like herself and the feeling scared her a little, but she didn't resist it. After all, it wouldn't last long.

* * *

The next day wasn't much different for the pair; crime fighting by day and (friendly) dating at night. This time it was Raven's time to pick a place. She took Beast Boy to _Carmen Café_ so he finally knew about her depressing cafés. The good thing about the place was that it was quite intimate, and its owner was very discrete, knowing that some celebrities would pop up from time to time. Beast Boy was surprised to find out that Raven was not a goth, nor did she especially like goth music, but she was more of a jazz and blues lover. Overall, it had been a really nice evening, so they hanged out together the next one, and the next one, until their feared day came.

The Titans were having a goodbye party for Raven. Titans East and all Honorary Titans would be there. The girl became a bit overwhelmed by all those people wishing her luck in her new career and saying how much they'd miss her. The Titans West gave individual speeches about her partner and how much she meant to them, and then she herself gave a small goodbye speech. She was happy to see all those friendly faces and to find out that they all cared for her, but it was still highly uncomfortable.

As for Beast Boy, he was feeling a bit anxious. Last night, Raven had told him that she wanted to say goodbye to him in a proper way, and that she wanted to hang out with him one last time. She added that she was picking the place and that he should wear a swimsuit.

When the goodbye party was over, all the guests had left and everyone had left off to sleep, he got out of his room and headed to the roof. Raven was there, still wearing her uniform and carrying a big bag with some towels inside. After greeting him, she took off and guided him to a small cove, very close to the tower, but completely hidden from view. The sand on it was thin and soft, and there was an amazing view of the sea that got lost in the horizon. The moon and the stars were reflected on the calm water, making the place look enchanted.

"Starfire comes here with Robin when they are in 'the romantic mood'" the sorceress explained.

"It's really nice" Beast Boy answered, admiring his surroundings.

When he looked back at his friend, his jaw hit the floor. She had taken off her clothes and now she was just wearing a cream-colored bikini. She immediately turned and headed to the sea.

"Aren't you coming?"

The changeling quickly took off his own clothes, leaving only his swimming trunks, and followed her into the sea.

The water was cool and refreshing. He saw the empath swimming off and he followed her.

"I never thought you were into this" he commented.

"I actually enjoy swimming, I just don't fancy crowded beaches" she answered, floating with her face up.

Raven suddenly stood up and stared into the horizon. At first, Beast Boy thought she had seen something, but he quickly realized that she was admiring the impressive views the cove offered. Maybe she was trying to take everything in, memorizing it so she'd never forget it. After all, she was leaving, and she'd only come back to visit them. She might never see that place again.

The moon was completely full at last, and it shone bright in the sky, lighting the place up a bit. Lots of stars could be seen too. The changeling stared at the empath in front of him. He couldn't help but thinking that the pale and subtle moonlight gave her skin a beautiful glow. He slowly approached her, until he was just behind her.

"It's a really beautiful sight" she said.

"I know" he whispered, not taking his eyes off her for a single moment.

In that same moment, he felt bold and he embraced her from behind. She tensed up in surprise, but quickly relaxed. She even put her arms over his. Both were thinking the same: _Tomorrow we'll have to say goodbye, so what's the worse that could happen if I just take this chance tonight?_

They stayed like that for a good while, not talking, just savoring the moment. None of them wanted to end the moment, but they had to go to sleep, since Raven was leaving early in the morning. The girl turned slightly and faced Beast Boy, looking at him straight in the eye. He silently nodded and they parted, getting back to the tiny beach, where they put on the towels the empath had brought. Being soaked as they were, they couldn't put their clothes on, so those were in Raven's bag, safe from the sand.

The pair stood at the roof at the tower. The sorceress had handed the changeling his clothes, but none of them dared leaving the place.

Finally, Beast Boy broke the silence.

"I'm going to miss you, Rae..."

"I'm also going to miss you... Gar" was her reply.

The teen's pointy ears perked up a bit. Had she just used a pet name on him? Well, he wasn't complaining.

"Promise to stay in touch" he asked her.

"I will" the empath whispered. Then, silence fell again.

"I guess we should get going..." the shape shifter half-heartedly said.

"Yeah..."

More silence.

"Gar?"

"Yes?"

Raven got really close to him and delicately grabbed him by his shoulders, losing her towel in the process. She stood on her tiptoes and did something that Beast Boy would never be able to forget.

She kissed him.

"Goodnight" she whispered. Then she hastily took her towel and her bag, and phased through the floor.

Beast Boy stayed in the roof, paralyzed. What had just happened? And why did it have to happen right then, when the girl who had kissed him, the girl he had liked for years, was going to leave?

Back in her room, Raven fell on her bed, not bothering to change into her pajamas, and cried bitterly.

 **And that's it. This chapter's shorter because I didn't fuse it with another one, but it just felt better like this, with the same ending it originally had. Stay tuned for the next one!  
**


	3. Wonderland

**Here's the next chapter for In The Blue Dark. Once again, I've fused two together. I hope you like it, don't forget to leave a nice review so I know what you liked and disliked!**

 _Chapter three: Wonderland_

Raven woke up early that morning. Jump-Up Records' HQ were in New York, so she'd be taking a plane to avoid getting tired from the teleporting. Of course, that meant she and her fellow Titans would have to wear holorings in order to go unnoticed, as she didn't want the press all over her. The girl knew she was just delaying the inevitable, but she knew paparazzis very well and she definitely didn't want their attention.

It was a very brief goodbye, since the group needed to be discrete. Still, the empath felt a pang of bitterness when she saw a certain someone's face. She hugged him quickly, just like she had done with the others, but she couldn't help but trembling a little when she felt his arms around her, holding her tight.

The holorings made him look like a normal blond guy. He could pass for the typical Californian surfer, as only his eyes remained the same shade of emerald-green. Maybe that was the way he was meant to be, maybe he'd have looked like that if he hadn't gotten his powers. Raven thought that he was equally attractive both ways. It was a thought she quickly discarded as she withdrew from his hold.

The Dark Titan got into the airplane before her friends' feelings of sadness overloaded her. She already felt bad enough. But his sadness, bitterness and longing (probably for her to stay) became unbearable, she needed to get away from all that. She clung her seat and mentally recited her mantra, for she feared an emotional outburst with possible catastrophic consequences.

Besides, she needed to resist the urge to get back down and kiss him again, much harder.

The remaining four watched as the plane took off. A tall and lean guy with red hair holding a weeping blond girl cleared his throat. His voice was unusually hoarse.

"We have to go meet Marie"

The group left the terminal in silence, feeling the silent absence of their friend, her quiet voice, her sarcastic remarks… they knew she had a lot of work ahead, so they couldn't help but wonder when they'd see their Raven again.

* * *

The empath looked through her window to see the plain was about to land. She had been sleeping through the whole trip. It wasn't surprising, as she hardly got any sleep. The empath got ready to get out and face her new life.

Mr. Stewart was supposed to pick her up and take her to what would be her first meeting with Jump-Up Records' executive board. She had some things to discuss about her contract and she hoped it would be brief.

The girl soon found her manager. He was holding a sign that read "Rachel Roth", as they had previously agreed. She went up to him.

"Welcome, darling! I'm sorry to say there's no time for a tour guide, at least not now… let's head to the car, the chauffeur is already waiting for us"

The ride to the recording company's headquarters was mostly quiet. Mr. Stewart asked the former superhero some trivial questions and informed her that he had set an apartment for her in Williamsburg. He was telling her about it when they got to their destiny.

"Oh, and before we go up there, there's something about the apartment you'll need to know"

"If you're going to tell me that the company's paying for it, so I owe them the advance for both the rent and the recording, I already knew. I don't think I can count on paying for that part of the debt until my album is out… considering it becomes a hit"

"It will, I have no doubt… but that's not what I wanted to tell you"

"Then what is it?"

They were in the elevator now, reaching up for the upper floor where their meeting was about to take place.

"As you may know, Williamsburg is not quite an affordable place anymore. This apartment is considerably modest, but even so… you're going to have to share it"

"EXCUSE ME?"

Mr. Stewart cleared his throat nervously and signaled towards the door in front of them.

"We'll deal with this later… okay?"

* * *

"Welcome to the Teen Titans, Pythia" Robin greeted the girl in front of him.

She was wearing a form-fitting blue outfit that outlined her very feminine figure. Her attractiveness didn't escape the Boy Wonder, and neither did her not-so-subtle glances towards his green teammate. He smiled lightly. Maybe there would be a silver lining about Raven's departure…

"Thank you. It's a great honor for me to become a part of your team" she answered politely. She seemed slightly intimidated by the masked hero.

"Come on, girl, drop the formalities! You're part of the family now!" Cyborg warmly replied, patting her back and making her chuckle.

"Indeed, friend Pythia! We must now make the haste and begin the preparations for your welcome party for the end of the week!" Starfire exclaimed in glee. She truly loved making new friends, but she loved fancy parties even more.

The newly formed group of heroes known as Teen Titans West headed into their trademark T-car to take their new acquisition home, three of them singing along to some radio song all the way back to Jump City. One of them remained silent, his thoughts far away in New York City and a kiss on top of a tower.

Deep inside, none of them truly felt like partying, but they knew that it was an important gesture towards their teammate, and they all needed something to take the recent events off their minds.

Once in the tower, the heroes showed their new friend around so she could get to know her new home. Once she was taken to her room, they helped her take all her personal belongings out of the boxes where she had been carrying them and place them in her room. It was a nice room, comfy and cozy, but it was humble in decoration as the clairvoyant's teammates wanted to get to know her before taking the step to customize her room. When they were done, the Titans decided to give her some time to rest and settle down.

Pythia lay down in her new bed and opened her old but still functioning laptop. New Orleans didn't have super villains and the police didn't fully trust superheroes, so she could hardly get any work done, which meant no scandalous amounts of cash would get into her bank account. The girl lived a good middle class life, but she wasn't used to the luxury of the T-Tower and so her tour left her wide-eyed.

She entered her username and password to sign in on Maskbook, a social network made only for superheroes. When creating an account, it had to be verified in order for the user to have access to the service. It was a crazy idea, and rumor has it it originated in that same, t-shaped tower.

" _Just settled down in the T-Tower. So cool!"_ she wrote as her new status.

She then checked her friendship requests. It was all of her new teammates. She chuckled.

"They were faster than me!" she exclaimed before accepting their request. She eyed one of them in particular.

Curiosity got the best of her, and she got into his profile. The girl furrowed her brows when he saw his profile picture.

It was a picture of Beast Boy throwing an arm around his former teammate, Raven.

He looked happy.

Pythia sighed.

"I remember him on the press, years ago, when the team was created. He looked like a child… when did he grow into this hot hunk?"

Something from Beast Boy's profile took her attention. It was his new status.

 _Already missing you_

The girl narrowed her eyes.

"It seems I do have competition"

* * *

Raven didn't know how much time had passed, or how she managed to get to her new home without making anything explode.

The company's executive boards was everything she was expecting -a bunch of jerks in expensive suits seeking for any way to make tons of money from her. She cleared some statements of the contract, refusing, among other things, to make photo shoots if she didn't get to choose her clothing; and taking hold of all the creative process of her future album. She was on the verge of having a rather nasty argument because of the album, since they wanted it to be out by December. It was madness. She told them that she couldn't possibly have it ready before July, but they were adamant that it had to be done as soon as possible. In the end, they agreed to publish the album in March, which still meant she had tons of work ahead to have it ready in time, as she didn't want some cheap pop production, but real, quality music, and that took time to compose and record.

The girl sighed. She'd have to resort to those old songs she had written in her early teens.

But before that, she'd have some meditation.

And maybe a ton of Ibuprofen.

Once in her new apartment, she was greeted by the girl she'd share the place with.

This was the other reason why she was having such a headache. She argued with Mr. Stewart all the way home. She told him about her powers and personality and how she needed space for herself, but it was to no avail, he insisted that CEOs had refused to pay for anything more expensive than that. Then he stated that the girl in question was another starlet like her, and that he was her manager and representant, too. He outlined just how nice she was and how well the two of them were going to get along.

With a sigh, Raven opened the door with her brand new keys and used her powers to take her packages into the house. Her roommate would have to get used to the fact that she was living with a former superhero.

"Wow! You're really Raven? How did you come out with that cool disguise?"

The girl in front of her was almost as tall as Starfire. She wore her hair on a short black pixie that gave her a cute tomboyish look, and she was covered in piercings and tattoos. Her bright blue eyes were alight with joy.

Weren't it for her punk rock looks, Raven would have puked from all the niceness.

"I'm Elea" she continued "Nice to meet you, I'm sure you hate to hear this, but I've always been a huge fan of you!"

"Right…" the dark girl mumbled while levitating her belongings through the hall.

"Oh, right, let me show you around! Though it's not like you could get lost in here" Elea said, chuckling.

The apartment was really small, indeed. It had just a hall that accounted for a living room, one small but functional bathroom, a little kitchen crowded with mobiliary and two tiny rooms. Elea's room had lots of posters of well-known rock bands, and an electric guitar. Raven's was still empty, except for a bed, a bedside table and a wardrobe.

"Okay, I'll give you some time to settle yourself in" the starlet cheerfully said "George has signed us in on a pub where we can sing to get some money to get through, mainly to pay the rent, and we're starting tonight at 8pm, so I hope you don't have jet lag!"

Raven sighed. Could her day get any worse? She was beat, she hadn't even eaten yet and she was hoping for some relax before getting to start working. She'd have to make the most of the little time she had. It seemed that her roommate wasn't getting the same privileges she did, and that she had to pay rent by herself, without any sort of help or advance from the recording company. However, the empath would sing so she could save up some money for the huge debt she'd have to pay later. Which meant she'd have to sing at the pub in the late evening and get up really early in the morning to start recording.

"And what am I supposed to be singing? When do I rehearse?"

"Don't worry, you'll have time once we're there"

"It doesn't solve the problem. Not only me, but the band that plays the songs will have to do some rehearsing if we don't want it to be a disaster"

"George has already arranged that, they're already doing some rehearse"

Raven's eyes widened.

"Wait, are you saying that he's chosen the songs for me?"

The punk-rocker grinned.

"Chill out, Raven. It's just a bunch of songs from Carmen Garland. He said you really like her music"

The empath groaned.

"While it's true, I don't know if I'll have enough time for rehearsal"

"Hey!" Elea protested. "That's not the spirit! You're not going to put on a good show if you don't show some self-confidence! And trust me" she winked an eye. "You're going to learn to do that, sooner or later" she finished in a sing-song voice.

"Whatever" the half-demoness mumbled.

"Well, call me if you need anything, okay?"

"Sure" the empath replied before turning off her holorings and reverting into her gray self and getting ready for some long meditation. She pinched the bridge of her nose.

 _"I can't believe I have actually agreed to do this. Mr. Stewart, or George, like that girl calls him, is really going to be in trouble"_ she thought.

* * *

Some hours had passed. Raven ate something for an early dinner outside with Elea, took a quick shower, changed into fresh clothes and made her first call home. Everyone was excited to talk to her despite the fact that they had seen her that very day. She couldn't say she wasn't happy to hear them, though. After some brief exchanges of information, she promised to log into Maskbook to chat with them the next day and got ready for work, as it was getting late. During her last days in Jump City, Starfire had taught her the basics of makeup in case she needed to do it, so she'd make use of her new skills for her concerts.

Once ready, she got out of her room to see that her partner was already waiting for her at the hall.

"We're singing at the same pub, so I'll stay and wait up for you. You're gonna love New York nights!" she claimed, grinning from ear to ear.

"Where are we going?" was Raven's answer. She really didn't want to bond with Elea. Too smiley and outgoing for her.

The short-haired singer threw something at Raven that she could catch midflight… to see, wide-eyed, that it was a bottle of tequila.

Elea winked.

"To Wonderland"

Raven stared at the bottle, dumbfounded.

"You can't be serious"

"What? It's just a little something to loosen up in case you're nervous" Elea giggled.

"You know we're underage, right?"

"Aw, come on!" the tall girl dismissed the former heroine's protest with a flick of her wrist "You're not a heroine anymore, Raven. You don't have to set a good example"

"It's not just about setting good examples, Elea" the empath groaned "It's about what's right and what's wrong. And this" she pointed the tequila bottle "is definitely wrong"

The punk–rocker sighed.

"You really have no idea how things work over here"

"Oh, so developing an addiction is the way things work?" the sorceress sarcastically questioned.

"Now you're exaggerating!" the girl raised her arms in frustration "You won't get addicted by taking one sip or two!"

"That's how all addictions start" Raven retorted.

The starlet pinched the brink of her nose.

"Okay, fine. If that's how you want to have it… let's start again" then, she snapped the tequila from Raven's hand "I'm Elea, pleasure to meet you, and I'll show you how everything works over here. You can get adapted to it or keep living as if you still were in your tower in a golden castle. I don't mind that, but we'll see how long you last" she bitterly spat.

"Whatever" Raven bumped her fists to activate her holorings. Elea was just an irresponsible brat, she wasn't impressed by her words.

The two females exited the tiny apartment. They were living in an alley in the cheapest area of Williamsburg, not that there were any cheap ones anymore. Raven wasn't too impressed, as she knew the place wasn't a bohemian paradise and marginal neighborhood anymore. She did wonder how she'd get by with her now modest salary, though. She had some savings from her time as a heroine, but it wasn't like she could spend them all in surviving in the now expensive borough. The empath hoped to get enough money at the pubs.

Elea guided her to the place, which wasn't too far away. It was one of the very few which had survived the recent gentrification, all in a corner in the south end. The fanciest bars only allowed the most well-known artists from the borough -or even pop stars- to play.

"You're going to love it, this place is an otherworldly experience" Elea cheerfully told her.

"Hence the name, huh?" Raven pointed out, glancing at the dirty and rusty sign that read _Wonderland._

Upon entering the narrow door, the two women had to go down a set of old, creaking stairs and into an old bar. This was clearly the forgotten corner of the borough; it didn't seem to have received visits from the police or health inspectors in years. The lone lamp flickered, the floor was sticky and suspiciously dark, the chairs and tables were badly battered and the bar obviously wasn't cleaned everyday. The owner was there, an overweight and frowning man who was too invested in cleaning one glass with a dirty cloth to even notice the newcomers. Or maybe he had noticed them, but didn't care. Raven watched her audience in dismay; most of the customers were quite drunk and didn't seem like the kind of people you'd like to encounter on a dark alley at night. There were also quite a few artists like herself, which seemed to be eyeing her questioningly.

" _What a great start"_ she thought.

"Well, let's go to the backstage, we need to rehearse" her roommate said, leading her to the tiny stage. Behind it, they found a small room crowded with musicians. There were musical instruments plugged and waiting to be played. Elea greeted her band and took her electric guitar out of its protective case.

"Uh, don't we have separate rooms for rehearsal? We won't get anything done like this" Raven complained.

"What were you expecting, darling?" the short-haired girl snorted "Right now we're nobody, and we'll be treated as such. But don't worry, I'll start playing in an hour, so you'll have some more time"

The empath sighed. She understood that she wouldn't have the same privileges she used to have as a Titan, but this was just embarrassing.

"Rachel Roth?"

A tall man with long hair and tattoos all over his arms approached her. She nodded.

"Let's begin. Barry will pay us when we finish playing"

"I assume Barry is the owner, right?" Raven questioned.

The man nodded and motioned her to follow him. She took a free microphone and the music scores for the songs they'd be playing. After a quick reading, she left them back on the low table where she had found it and started her rehearsal.

* * *

Pythia, or rather, Marie, was feeling nervous.

It was going to be her first mission with the Teen Titans. She'd be fighting in a team for the first time. It was her introduction to A-class superheroes, and she was hectic about it. The girl was a bit afraid of messing up or not being able to coordinate her fighting style with that of her teammates. After all, she hadn't even had time to train with them when the trouble alarm rang.

The girl quickly put on her blue outfit. It consisted of an electric blue spandex sleeveless leotard with a rather revealing low-cut and a short, see-through, cerulean chiffon dress attached to it. Then she put on her knee-high brown boots with high heels. Other heroines she knew had told her it was just not sensible to wear high heels in battle, but she was used to running with them. Besides, she strongly believed that heroines were no lesser celebrities than Hollywood stars, and so they should go out in style. Finally, she tied up her brown hair in a ponytail which went down to her mid-back.

She ran to meet her friends at the common room -thankfully, she had found Beast Boy on the way and they got there together, because the tower was huge and she still didn't know her way around it. Robin turned on the screen to see Plasmus wreaking havoc on the streets, spitting acid at cars and drenching everything in the disgusting toxic ooze that formed his body.

"It doesn't look so, but Plasmus is actually human" Robin explained "He needs to be put to sleep in order to recover his original form. The thing is, as Plasmus he doesn't really want to sleep, but run around wrecking everything"

"So we kick his butt?" Pythia asked.

"I was thinking it could be a good opportunity for you to use your powers. I'd like to see them in a real combat situation" the leader replied "The rest of you guys, do the usual; hit him hard, blast him and watch out for getting trapped by him"

The other three heroes nodded. Robin gave some more details about the strategy to follow and reassured Pythia that she'd do fine.

"Good. Let's move, then. Titans, GO!"

The team got into the T-car. Cyborg drove them into the area which Plasmus was currently terrorizing with his nauseating ooze. Beast Boy covered his nose to protect himself from the stench.

"It's time for your nap, Plasmus!" Robin exclaimed, throwing his explosive disks at the monster. They hit their target, which turned slowly to face the now attacking heroes.

Starfire rose high in the sky and repeatedly hit the villain with her starbolts. As a response, he stretched one gooey limb from his back and trapped the princess, making her scream in disgust. She fretted and fought to break free, but it was to no avail. The monster could adapt the shape of his limbs to make a perfect cage for the alien, so not even her superhuman strength could help her. He slowly dragged her down to trap her in his body.

"Hands-off, creep!" Cyborg shouted, shooting his sonic cannon at the creature's arm, detaching it from his gooey body. It didn't really damage the villain, as he could form more if needed, but it was enough to free his alien teammate, who quickly took to the skies to attack from a safer distance.

As a bull, Beast Boy made a frontal charge, but the villain contorted his deformed body to avoid him. He was then hit by more starbolts from one side, so he spit acid in response. The alien it was aimed at avoided the attack with no problem by gliding to one side. Meanwhile, Cyborg shot his sonic cannon again, making the creature slowly retreat from the repeated hits. Robin kept using his explosives and Beast Boy kept tackling the monster in big, resilient animal forms like bulls or oxen, which didn't damage him, but was enough to make him back away.

A brighter villain would have wondered why Robin and Cyborg weren't performing their signature move "sonic boom" to finish him for good, but Plasmus was barely sentient. Fleeing from his four attackers, he found a girl dressed in blue blocking his advance. He spit acid at her, but she did a backflip and evaded the attack. Then, she raised her hands in an imposing manner and emitted strange sonic waves that got deep inside Plasmus' conscience, all the while her eyes glowed an eerie blue. She didn't move or break eye contact for a single second, and soon the monster fell to the floor. The veteran Titans approached him and saw that he had retreated into his human form, meaning that he was already asleep. Robin hastily contacted the authorities so they'd get him into his stasis tank as soon as possible.

"He'll be like that for a while, they should make it on time" the newbie commented.

"Well done" Robin congratulated her, smiling softly. They shook hands.

"Guys, this sure deserves a BOOYAH!" Cyborg proclaimed "Let's go celebrate!"

"I have heard through the vine of grapes that there is a new pizzeria in the center of the city" Starfire chimed in "We may go, but I wish to take a shower first" she added, shivering. There was nothing she hated more than Plasmus' goo all over her.

"I think that's a good idea" Robin replied.

Cyborg was a bit reluctant to let his goo-drenched friends get into his "baby", but Starfire was right, they couldn't go anywhere like that. He hastily took them back to the tower, where he showered quicker than anyone so he could clean the T-car.

When they were ready, the five heroes left for the new pizzeria, which was call _West's Diner._ It was similar to the one they used to go to, but it completely lacked its charm. There were no outdoor chairs and the owners and waiters were obnoxiously flattering towards the Titans, due to them being the local celebrities. However, the veterans didn't tell Pythia any of this so as not to make her feel out of place. The pizzeria did make up for its flaws with a delicious menu with lots of options for everyone to enjoy - even mustard-loving Starfire. It had been a good day after all. Robin seemed to be a bit more relaxed after he saw the new girl's good results, so the general mood improved, if only a little bit.

* * *

 _But then he starts to dance_

 _Out of his mind, he begs for me_

 _My eyes can't see anyone else_

 _We sway our way into the sea_

 _Into the sea_

Raven took a breath. That was the last rehearsal before the show. Elea had already left to play with her band, but the empath had been so concentrated in her duty that she didn't pay the slightest attention to the sounds that were coming from the pub. She addressed the musicians who'd accompany her and they gathered their instruments to set them on stage. Still inside, the Azarathean waited for her cue to come out.

"And now, please greet a new singer that's debuting tonight" a girl's cheerful voice was heard from outside. The owner had hired her to waitress and introduce the artists and bands that would be playing at the pub, probably not paying her enough to do so "Rachel Roth!"

Raven took a deep breath and opened the door which would lead her on stage. She mentally recited her mantra to stop her legs from shaking and her powers from manifesting, which could result in a disaster. She took the microphone, unable to keep eye contact with the people watching her. Trying to keep her voice from trembling, she started to sing. The music was really soft, as this was a slow piece, and so she could hear those closer to her whenever they spoke.

 _My mind and heart are set on fire, my dear_

 _You brought me way down but here I come_

 _Don't try to escape me_

 _I can see through your heart and all your walls_

"Really? Is she going to try _that one?"_ she heard someone said "Now isn't that ambitious"

The empath felt rage bursting up her chest at the unfair critic. She knew she had to let it out, but she couldn't insult her audience, no matter how arrogant was their behavior. Luckily, the song was about a cheated woman planning revenge on her former lover, so it was easy for her to channel her feelings.

 _We were once so happy_

 _Together you and I_

 _I'll make you regret you betrayed me_

 _And I will be the one to stand_

"Okay, she's not that bad AT ALL" the person conceded.

Raven couldn't help a triumphant smile from forming on her face. She was beginning to feel more confident, and she let it show in her song. Her contralto voice ranged from whispering and even raspy -the way she usually talked- to powerful and almost booming, and she had a surprisingly ample register. This meant that, unlike most singers who tried to cover that specific piece, she didn't have to shout at any time to reach the highest pitches. Even the judgemental artists among the audience were now holding their breaths.

And just like it began, the song ended. Everyone in the pub, no matter how drunk, was dead quiet. Even Barry had stopped cleaning his glass and was staring at the raven-haired beauty on the stage. She waited, expectant, barely able to breathe.

Suddenly, everyone started clapping and cheering loudly. Raven muttered a "thanks" on the mic and sighed. She had made it through her first song. Maybe this wasn't as hard as she had thought…

From the corner of her eye, she could see Elea sitting at a table with her band. The girl was grinning from ear to ear, and winked an eye at the empath, who nodded and started her next song.

* * *

After scarfing the delicious pizza, the Teen Titans decided to show Pythia around the city. They went to the most iconic places, like the mall, the park, the beach or the fair. It was an express visit so she'd get the gist of what the city was like, but her fellow heroes promised to take her to all the cool places little by little so she'd get to know Jump City as much as they did.

The tour had been rather tiring, so the team decided to call it a day and get back home. They all had been really nice to Pythia and she was grateful for it, but her first awkward tries at approaching Beast Boy had been disappointing. He had been just as nice as the others, and he had responded in a rather flattering way to her compliments and questions, but his thoughts seemed to be somewhere else. Maybe the rumors about Jump City's newest couple were true after all… The novel heroine decided that she had to find out somehow.

Cyborg suggested a movie night in order to keep bonding with Pythia. Everyone agreed, and she saw an opportunity to talk to Beast Boy a bit more. However, that seemed unlikely to happen, since her four teammates were arguing over what movie genre to watch and they didn't seem to be going to reach an agreement any time soon.

"Come on, grass stain! You loved the first Wicked Scary movie!" Cyborg complained, glaring at the green changeling.

"I know, but I don't want to see it! It's the movie that…" he paused for a second "Nevermind. I heard it was awful"

"Really? I heard it had received fairly good critics…" Robin commented, a bit doubtful about his friend's opinion.

Unbeknownst to the Boy Wonder, his girlfriend was glaring at him. How could he be so clueless? The movie clearly reminded Beast Boy of Raven and her haunted-house-like incident. As for Cyborg, was he trying to get by as if she were still there? Deciding that it was time for an emergency intervention, Starfire decided to speak up.

"I believe that it is friend Pythia who should make the choice for the night of movies" she said, putting the boys' argument to a halt.

"Star's right" Beast Boy immediately claimed "What would you like to see?"

"Well… there's this romantic movie I've been wanting to see for some time, but I don't know if you're into that kind of stuff" the clairvoyant confessed, blushing a bit.

"I will be most happy to see it!" Starfire exclaimed in glee.

"It's decided, then" Robin sighed. He wasn't interested in those kinds of movies, he had enough with having to watch them with his alien girlfriend. But it wasn't like he could actually complain without earning her anger, though.

The group gathered on the circular couch with popcorn and soda to watch the movie. It was called _Peace of mind,_ and it was about two childhood friends who were in love with each other and became reunited after having gone on separate ways. For both Robin and Cyborg, it was tedious. For Starfire and Pythia, it was a masterpiece. For Beast Boy, it was torture.

She was the typical manic pixie dream girl who existed solely to comfort her love interest about his tormented existence. He was the pretty bad boy who got everything wrong in his life and needed someone to remind him to stay positive and believe in himself. It had dramatic tints, but it was terribly cliché.

And their separation, along with the drama of having been apart for so many years and having to deal with how much both had changed, was something Beast Boy felt awfully familiar with. And not only because of Terra.

When the movie was over, Pythia expected to be able to talk to the changeling about it, but he immediately left for his bedroom under the guise that he was tired. However, she was able to talk to the rest of her new friends for a little while, which was something.

* * *

In the safety of his room, the green shapeshifter fell on the top bunk. He touched his lips with two of his fingers, reminiscing about the kiss he had shared with Raven. What had that meant, if it had meant anything at all?

Sighing, he tried to sleep, knowing that he wouldn't be able to talk to the empath about that, at least not just yet. They'd both be very busy, and he was a bit scared to bring up the subject. How would she react? Would she get mad at him? What if she got mad and refused to talk to him again?

Beast Boy rolled in his bed. It was going to be a long night…

* * *

Raven felt a bit overwhelmed from all the attention she was getting.

After she finished her songs, the artists had stepped in to praise her performance and ask her tons of questions, the drunkards cheered her loudly… Even Barry nodded at her and grumbled something unintelligible that Elea assured the empath was a high praise. She started to wish she could leave already, but it was important for her to have connections. While she didn't need to become popular to get any record company's attention, it could be a lot easier for her to sell her albums if she had positive feedback and potential professional assistance from the beginning. So she forced herself to interact with those people who moments ago just thought she was a pretentious bluff.

Finally, she saw her chance when the pub started to get emptier and emptier, as closing time was nearing. It was really late at night. Excusing herself, she approached Barry, who she had been told would pay her daily, and got her money. It wasn't much, but it would suffice for getting by. Elea imitated her and they left, as the empath's musicians and Elea's band had all left. The taller girl's breath stank from the alcohol she had taken during the rehearsal and she had some trouble walking, but other than that she was still quite lucid.

"You're really good, Raven"

"Call me Rachel when we're out" the camouflaged celebrity warned her.

"Okay, so Rachel" the guitarist continued "You don't only have a beautiful voice, you know how to use it"

"I was really nervous" the empath reluctantly replied. She had had enough praise for the day.

"And yet you did great! I'm sure someday you'll be a star" the brunette congratulated her.

Raven decided to ignore that comment. Elea had probably been trying for years before she signed a contract with Jump Up Records. She, on the other hands, had been discovered at a karaoke bar in Harajuku. It was probably better not to tell her about that.

The two girls were on their way home when they found a rather nasty distraction.

Being used to the streets late at night, Elea thought she had noticed it first. Being an empath, Raven had actually noticed it at the same time as her. There was a group of five men at the other side of the road. They seemed to have an ill interest on the starlets, and not exactly the purest of intentions.

"Rachel, I think we're gonna have to go another way" the short-haired girl whispered.

"I can take them down if I need to" she bravely murmured back.

"Hey, you're not a heroine anymore, remember?" Elea rebutted "You can't just go around getting in fights, not unless it's strictly necessary"

"That was what I planned" the empath replied, a bit annoyed for having to take a long cut.

"And that means not taking unnecessary risks" the other girl retorted as they were starting to get closer to the menacing group "I'm serious, you could end up in trouble. Just follow me"

The two turned right for another street. Elea knew her way around, she had done this many times. They only had to follow the street and turn left at the music shop corner, then go straight on for two more blocks, and then turn left again and they'd be on their way again. The five creeps started to follow them, but they just kept going. Elea knew exactly where to turn to make their harassers lose sight of them.

However, it didn't work this time.

Raven had noticed it, but decided to go by what her roommate said to prevent trouble. Besides, the girl was walking quite slowly because of the tequila. There was an empty bottle at the floor that the sorceress had seen from the corner of her eye, and when one of the perverts noticed it, he threw it over them so they had to stop to avoid getting hit.

"Hey there, cuties" he said "Wouldn't you like to stay for a little while?"

"Yeah, we'll take really good care of you" another of the men chuckled, slowly approaching the two females.

The Azarathean stood protectively between Elea and those degenerates, ready to fight them if she needed. They cackled with laughter at her gesture.

"Look, she wants to protect her girlfriend!"

"Wait, are they lesbians? I wanna see them make out!"

"It's okay, sweetie" the man who had thrown the bottle said in a mockingly soothing tone, as he approached the empath "You just need to know what a man feels like"

Raven let him get close as if she weren't going to fight back. Those men had obviously only fought on the streets and had received no training whatsoever, while she had been taught martial arts by the Boy Wonder.

With a swift and sudden move, she kicked the man's crotch. While he was bending in pain, she took the chance to hit his nape with the side of her hand, leaving him instantly unconscious. The rest of the gang stared at her in disbelief. She had accomplished this feat impossibly fast.

"He'll stay like this for a few hours" she explained, glaring at the man in disgust "Does anybody else want to get his ass kicked?"

One of them charged at her, calling her a rather nasty name. With a swift kick to his temple, the girl rendered him unconscious as well. The three remaining creeps quickly retreated.

"Okay, I have to admit that was cool" Elea said, finally releasing the breath she had been holding.

"Let's just go home" Raven grumbled. Those idiots had put her in a worse mood. She was going to need some meditation before going to bed to keep Rage in check. She'd be lucky if she could get any sleep.

Next day she'd be getting up at 6am. It was definitely her worst first-day-at-job ever.

"By the way… thank you" the rocker breathed "And sorry about before, I'll take back what I said. You can definitely stand your ground in a place like this"

The sorceress turned to look at her roommate, blinking in surprise.

"It's alright" she finally replied "Just try not to get drunk, okay?"

Elea chuckled as a response. Maybe they would get along after all…

* * *

 **That's it. Next chapter will be brand new. It's almost finished, but there are some things I'd like to add. I expect to publish it by the beginning of next week. Keep being nice!**


	4. Shades of blues

**And here's the next chapter! I really hope you enjoy it. Please keep reviewing, you really make my day! Also, I've opened a poll in my profile about my next stories. Make sure you vote on it, as your opinion matters a lot to me.**

 _Chapter four: Shades of blues_

The clock rang, and rang, and rang… suddenly, it got encased in dark energy and thrown against the opposite wall, crashing in the process.

"Great. I liked that clock" Raven moaned, rubbing her eyes.

The empath got up with a sigh. She had barely slept at all, and her dreams had been filled with critics, executives and harassers. Hopefully, she'd have some time to relax after recording. And maybe some time to talk to her friends. She hurriedly took a shower and got dressed. It was then that it hit her.

Cyborg wasn't there to make waffles for her anymore.

Which meant she'd have to cook.

The sorceress recited her mantra to prevent herself from panicking as she took the herbal tea she had unpacked the day before. The kitchen's tea kettle looked like it hadn't been used, or cleaned, in a long time. Scrunching her nose, the sorceress dropped it in the sink, hoping her roommate would get the hint. Fortunately, she had brought her own kettle from the Titans tower, since her former teammates never used it and they had insisted that she should keep it.

Like all her other belongings, the kettle was impeccable. It would be so much better to brew her tea in it. The half-demon poured some water into it and left it on the stove to boil. Since the walls in that house were horribly thin, she made her way back into her room and turned on her laptop while she waited for the water to be ready. She was aware that her friends would probably be still asleep, but she wanted to leave a message anyways. She logged in into Maskbook and searched for _his_ profile. His picture and status brought a small smile to the girl's face and encouraged her further to send him a chat message. Right then, her kettle blew. She took it and placed a small bag of dried leaves in her mug, pouring the water in it afterwards.

As she sipped her English Breakfast tea, Raven thought of the choirs she'd have to get done. It would be a good idea to buy some food. The poor girl tried not to think of said food's fate when she put it on the stove to cook. After finishing her tea and cleaning her mug, she looked at the fridge in dread. The day before, she had just taken some spaghetti outside with Elea in a suspiciously cheap Italian diner in their neighborhood. Today, however, she wouldn't be able to escape the kitchen.

" _I'm wasting time. I should get down to it"_

Wondering if her roommate would ever emerge from her own bedroom, the empath took some sliced bread from the fridge and got to work. It couldn't be _that_ hard, right?

Elea was stretched out in her small bed, one of her legs out with her foot touching the floor to prevent her head from spinning. She was snoring softly, but a strange odor made her wake up. The rocker rolled on her bed, grunting. She had a horrible headache and she was a bit sick on the stomach, and the stench that was coming from the kitchen wasn't making her hangover any better.

Suddenly, she recognized the smell.

"RAVEN, THE HOUSE IS ON FIRE!"

The punk raced out of her room to find the source of the smell. Raven was in the kitchen, holding a saucer with two charred toasts. She was paler than usual.

"Uh… good morning?"

Then, the brunette noticed something. The toaster was wrapped in some mysteriously blackened rags. She took them out and gasped at the sight.

The toaster was completely scorched. Some ominous black fumes emanated from it. The girl could do nothing but stare at her roommate in disbelief, hoping she'd have an explanation for such a massacre.

That day, she learnt that even the most imposing superheroines could blush.

"Uh… I was trying to make some toasts and… I think we're going to need a new toaster" Raven muttered, twisting a strand of her hair in between two fingers and biting her lower lip.

Elea shook her head.

"You can't be serious"

* * *

After the incident and a good half an hour of listening to Elea laughing at her, Raven finally got out -not before promising she'd buy a new toaster before returning to the apartment for dinner. She headed for the subway station, where she bought a monthly subway pass -which was cheaper than daily ones-, and hopped on the subway, tightly grasping her suitcase and scanning the wagon with her powers. She really didn't want to be robbed. Fortunately, she detected a possible robber -and a couple perverts in search for someone to "accidentally" grope- and was able to evade trouble.

Once in her stop, she hurried to get there on time. It was a bit far and she couldn't really risk teleporting and be seen, as she'd like to remain anonymous for a bit longer. It was fifteen minutes by walking, but it would be worth it.

When the empath arrived at the HQ, she quickly found her way to the recording studio where Mr. Stewart was waiting for her. He warmly greeted her when she arrived.

"Raven, I'm glad that you're here already" he told her, smiling broadly "As you can see, this studio has all sorts of equipment so you can create your music the way you see fit"

"Good" she said "We're short on time, so I've brought some songs I wrote several years ago. I didn't have time to read through them yesterday, so if I could get that done today…"

"Of course, dear!" her manager cheerily replied "Whatever you need. Don't mind those CEO bloodsuckers, you have total freedom to create as you please"

"Thank you" she answered "I think I should start with that, then"

"I know you don't want anyone to write lyrics for you" the blind man started "but our CEOs hired an advisor so you could get a second opinion"

Raven raised an eyebrow.

"If I wanted anyone's opinion, I would just ask"

"I know, I know" Mr. Stewart seemed nervous, and his aura gave it away "But they've already hired staff to help you with the production process. You can't get everything done on your own, and as you said, we don't have much time, so it'd be better if you had someone to assist you, don't you think?" he was trying to be as diplomatic as he could.

The empath narrowed her eyes.

"Whatever. I'll ask this person for assistance, but the final decision in _everything_ will be mine" she conceded. She wanted to create music that was truly hers, so while she appreciated the feedback, she didn't want to give those assistants too much power over her work.

Once they cleared the issue, she was introduced to her assistant. The truth was that she was making the sorceress' job quicker, giving her advice on which of her old songs could still be used, which needed some work and which would be better off in the rubbish bin. The process was longer than Raven had originally thought, as she wanted to correct everything in a song before moving on to the next, and when she noticed, it was already time for her to leave. She sighed. It was going to be harder than she had figured. Mr. Stewart intercepted her before she left.

"There's something I'd like to tell you"

"Yes?" Raven requested warily. So far, news from the empath's manager had meant a new problem for her.

The man took a camera from his suitcase and handed it to her. Raven turned it on. It contained a video recording. Mr. Stewart nodded at her, and she hit the "play" button. It showed her performance the day before at Wonderland. When it finished, the girl's manager shrugged at her outraged expression.

"Our dear bosses insisted in sending someone to monitor your progress" he explained "they say you still need to learn some techniques to master control over your voice…"

"I can't believe they're spying on me!" Raven complained, interrupting the man.

"...so that's why you're going to take some singing lessons on Saturdays"

Raven raised an eyebrow.

"And I should agree to do it because…?"

"Because your teacher will be Carmen Garland herself"

Suddenly, the lights at the studio started to flicker. Raven had to leave immediately to stop her powers from causing mayhem. The sorceress idolized the diva. That woman represented all she wanted to become, and she was the half-demon's ideal of what a true singer should be like. Knowing she would meet her in person and learn from her vast experience made her so excited that she almost lost control of her powers. So she left the place, muttering her mantra under her breath and hoping nothing would be obliterated in her presence.

Now, it was time to buy that stupid toaster. She hoped she wouldn't burn it this time…

* * *

Indeed, it had been a long night.

Beast Boy had barely slept, and his dreams were uneasy and restless, filled with images of a certain violet-haired girl. He groaned, knowing that he'd have training in an hour. Against his will, the changeling got up and got ready for the day.

As usual, all of his friends were already up. Pythia, his newest friend, approached him cheerfully.

"Good morning! Aren't you a heavy sleeper" she joked.

"Get used to it, B wouldn't get up early even if the tower was in flames!" Cyborg replied with his booming laugh.

"Quit it, tin man" the changeling grumbled while taking some tofu from the fridge.

"Oh, you're vegan?" Pythia curiously asked.

"If I weren't, I'd be a cannibal like him" the shapeshifter chuckled, pointing at the tin man.

"I'm not a cannibal, I just like to eat actual food instead of tofu crap!" Cyborg shouted back.

The clairvoyant chuckled at the exchange. Those two were really fun to be around, even when they were arguing.

The group had breakfast together, engaging in conversation. They seemed to be hastily befriending Pythia, who treated them nicely and tried to socialize with everyone. Their former teammate's parting still hurt, but she helped to make the pain milder.

When they were done, Robin started their training session. It would be focused on finding out how Pythia's powers worked and designing team strategies that included her. The nature of her powers made her more of a passive fighter, so she made up for it with her combat skills, which he wanted to enhance as well.

"What I want you to do is to try to hypnotize each of us, individually" Robin explained "We need to know how the enemy might resist or break free from your spells, and what you can make them do when hypnotized"

The girl nodded. She had been paired up with Beast Boy first, since he was the easiest Titan to hypnotize. He had complained about Robin's brutal honesty, but for the Boy Wonder testing his new teammate's powers was far more important than his friend's feelings. The grumpy shapeshifter was now standing in front of the new heroine, waiting for her to make her move.

Pythia raised her hands and concentrated. Beast Boy wasn't supposed to fight her in this first try; just to resist her spell if he could. Just like Robin had imagined, he immediately went limp, his eyes staring into infinity. She had hypnotized him almost instantly.

Grinning, the heroine made the changeling morph into a monkey and jump around. Then, she changed him back to human and pushed him to do a handstand, and then to run around the training room in the form of a dog. After a furtive glance at her leader, she gave him one last order.

The boys chuckled when they saw Beast Boy, back in his human form, kissing Pythia's cheek. Starfire, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes. The clairvoyant was really nice and she considered her to be her friend, but she knew how Raven felt for the changeling. As her best friend, she didn't approve of them.

Finally, the novel heroine released the shapeshifter from his spell. He was a bit confused, and he obviously didn't recall what just happened.

"Who wants to go next?" she cheerfully asked.

Robin stepped in. She concentrated once more, her eyes glowing blue. The team leader felt a strong pull to his conscience, as if her powers were trying to drown it. Out of sheer force of will, he tried to fight her enchantment; and though he did last longer than his green friend, he ended up throwing roundhouse kicks to the air while shouting in a strange and ridiculous manner, his friends practically rolling on the floor from laughter.

Feeling his pride a bit wounded, the young man commanded the next hero to step in and test the new girl's powers. Grinning, Cyborg obliged. He knew he wasn't going to make a fool of himself like his two male friends had.

However, resisting Pythia's psychic pull proved difficult. The human part of his mind was starting to feel numbed down after a short while, so with his last ounce of will he typed something on his arm's touch pad, making some sensors in his body induce him unconsciousness. As his mind drifted away, he allowed his robotic side to take over.

Pythia was starting to sweat. The half-robot had resisted her attack long enough to configure himself into temporary autopilot mode. She had only been able to access his human side, so she concentrated harder to enter her robotic psyche. It was to no avail, the man -or was it the machine?- remained in control despite her best efforts; so in the end she gave up, drying a drop of sweat from her forehead while her eyes returned to their normal baby blue stare.

Just when she finished her onslaught, the robotic man came back from his state, his human mind gaining control again as he had programmed. He beamed at his teammates, proud of his resilience. Ignoring the further bruise to his ego, Robin scratched his chin, lost in thought.

"So robotic entities are immune to your powers… this is quite relevant information" he said, eyeing the heroine.

"You're really tough, Cyborg!" she complimented the young man, who snickered in return.

"What, you thought I'd be a wuss like these two?"

"HEY!" both males complained at the same time, making the girl laugh.

Starfire stepped in afterwards.

"I shall be your next opponent" she cheerfully said.

The two heroines stayed still for some moments, seemingly sizing each other up. Then, Pythia's eyes started to glow blue, and she raised her hands, trying to control the alien warrior's mind. Starfire felt the pull and bent as if she were in pain, but slowly she managed to rise again and resist the attack. Pythia frowned and concentrated more energy. The princess growled fiercely, trying to stand her ground. Both women continued their silent confrontation for some minutes, none of them giving up. In the end, it was Robin who put a halt to it.

"That should be enough" he said, slightly worried about his girlfriend's well-being "It seems that Tamaraneans are quite resistant to hypnosis" he added, smiling softly at the tanned girl.

"I believe that I could have continued to resist friend Pythia's power" Starfire replied, panting a bit.

"You've done a great job" Pythia sighed in exhaustion.

"I believe we all deserve some rest" Robin conceded "We'll keep testing your powers later, I'd like to know more about your precognitive abilities as well"

"Well, it's very simple, actually" the girl explained "if I touch an object or a person, I might see some visions of the future related to them. I have limited power over this, though"

"That could be useful for catching villains. Maybe we could even prevent them from committing the crime in the first place…" Robin decided to think about the juicy possibilities of premonitions later "It's decided, then. You guys will have a free afternoon to rest unless there's an emergency. We'll train some more before dinner"

The group disbanded to take a shower and relax. Beast Boy was still a bit grumpy about having been hypnotized so easily, so his leader decided to talk to him while the others left to change into fresh clothes. He then explained what Pythia had been telling him to do with a playful smirk on his face. That seemed to put the green teen in a better mood, judging from the blush that covered his face.

" _Good. This is going just fine"_ Robin thought. He had feared that the team dynamic would be altered by Raven's departure, but Pythia seemed to fill in the gap just fine.

The girl was at the ops room, playing some videogames with Cyborg. She wasn't too big on them, but she was willing to try some of them anyways. Like all beginners, she was terrible at it, but the young man didn't mock her even once so he wouldn't discourage her from trying further.

Then, a visibly happier Beast Boy got into the ops room, making her beam in delight.

"Hey, BB! Uh… can I call you that? Cyborg does it all the time"

"Of course you can" he replied, smiling warmly.

"Sweet!" she exclaimed "So, I've been thinking… Yesterday you said there was a great comic book store in here. I'd like to check it out, but I don't know where it is… would you like to go with me?"

"Sure! I'll go change clothes!" Beast Boy hurriedly answered before racing towards his room.

Once there, he picked something comfortable to wear. He noticed that he had left the computer on before the training session. It had been his intention to talk to Raven for a bit, but Robin immediately summoned the Titans into the training room. The changeling was going to shut it down when he saw a chat notification. His heart skipped two beats.

It was from Raven.

He opened it and read it.

 _Today will hopefully not be as rushed as yesterday, so I figured we could talk a bit in the afternoon before I leave for my concert._

The changeling felt a knot in his stomach. He had already told Pythia he'd be taking her to the comic book store, but it made him really happy to see that the empath wanted to talk to him…

But she was too far away, and it wasn't like he could just turn down his new friend.

Sighing, he typed a quick apology and got ready for the day.

* * *

"Ready for your cooking lessons, Raven?"

Elea was at the kitchen, wearing a ridiculous polka dot apron and wielding a skimmer as if it were a sword. Raven blinked repeatedly.

"Uh… maybe later, I'd like to make a call home and meditate first"

"Fine, take your time" the punk-rocker replied "but not too much, because you won't leave the house until you've had a proper dinner!"

The empath grumbled something and secluded herself into her tiny room. There were just two steps between the door and her tiny bed. It had nothing to do with her dark and spacious room back at Jump City, and she was having trouble adjusting. But she wouldn't admit it aloud. Even though she'd taken them back, Elea's words really got to her. The guitarist wondered how long she'd last if she didn't become adapted to her new life. Well, she wasn't going to give her roommate the satisfaction of saying "I told you so".

The violet-haired girl logged in into Maskbook, hoping to have a chat message from Beast Boy. She had felt bold in the morning, but now she was a bit scared to talk to him. What would she say? How would he react? Should she even address their kiss?

However, it wasn't like she could cower now. The sorceress opened the unread message from him and read it.

 _Sorry Rae, Pythia said she wanted to visit the comic book store, so I'm taking her with me. Maybe we could talk tomorrow?_

"No. Way." she gasped.

That girl had only been in the tower for one day and she was already going on a date with the changeling? How was that possible?

Raven felt a bubble of anger and jealousy starting to rise in her chest. She decided to meditate before it exploded. She had already stood up from her chair, not bothering to turn off her computer, when she saw a chat message. She stood again to check it. It was from Starfire.

 _Friend, would it be possible for you to perform the chat of the video with me? I wish to talk to you._

Under other circumstances, she'd have rejected the princess' request. But right now she felt she could really use someone to talk to. She selected the camera button to initiate a video chat. Starfire soon picked up.

"Friend Raven! I am joyous to see you!" she exclaimed. Raven noticed she was floating with her laptop on her hands.

"I'm happy to see you too, Star" she replied.

"How is your career advancing? I am most eager to know!"

"Well… it's a slow process. For now I'm just songwriting during the day and singing at a pub at night" the empath explained.

"That is glorious! I am confident that your work will be a success" the cheerful girl answered, beaming brightly.

Raven sighed.

"I really hope you're right"

As an empath, the sorceress could still pick some of her friend's emotions from this means of communication. And Starfire was spreading doubts and reservation, which was unusual for her unless something had happened… or she was trying to hide something or find the words to reveal it.

"Okay, what's wrong?" Raven inquired, not wanting to talk around the issue anymore.

"Friend… I am afraid that this new girl, Pythia…" she took a breath "While I find her company most enjoyable, I believe that friend Beast Boy might find it _too_ enjoyable. I am afraid that she is trying to steal him from you!"

Raven lowered her head. It was just as she had suspected…

"Star, don't talk about him as if he were a possession. People can't be stolen, they choose which way to go" she muttered, feeling worse after each word she said.

"And he is choosing the wrong way!" the alien girl bellowed, the camera moving as she landed on her bed "The two of you belong together, do you not see it?"

"Are you sure that a cheerful girl who doesn't have demon blood, anger issues and who doesn't need to keep her emotions under constant check is the wrong one to pick?" the empath retorted bitterly "And even if she were, what am I supposed to do about it? I've made my own decision already and I've left!"

Starfire bit her lip. She was trying to figure out how to say her next words.

"I cannot tell you if yours was a good decision or not, but I do know that it will require a sacrifice" she finally said "you might have to give up on him for good"

"I already have, Star. It's not like I stood a chance to begin with" the half-demon sighed.

"I do not think you understand what that implies, and I am afraid that it will break your heart" the redhead replied sadly "It will be worse than… you-know who"

Raven flinched when her best friend mentioned Malchior. She really didn't want to go through that again, but what was she supposed to do?

"I'll bear it in mind. Thanks for the advice, Starfire. I'll go meditate now" she said.

The two best friends said a quick goodbye and promised to keep talking the next day. Raven logged out from Maskbook and shut down her laptop. Her friend's words were a bitter pill to swallow, but she was very wise when it came to relationships and feelings. Maybe she was right…

For the sake of her meditation, the sorceress did her best to shrug the thought off for the time being.

* * *

"Wow, so you like Wolf?" Beast Boy asked his teammate, marvelled at her knowledge of comic books.

"He's the coolest superhero in comic books ever!" she claimed, picking up a rare copy from the aforementioned hero's original stories. Jump City's comic book store was huge, and it had a great variety of comic books and merchandising. You could find the latest mainstream albums, and the rarest unpublished collections. It was, as Beast Boy liked to call it, _nerd-a-dise._

"You got that right! Say" he playfully told her "who would you say is the coolest real-life hero?"

He had expected her to say it was Batman, or maybe Wonder Woman. But definitely not what she answered.

"You, of course!" Pythia giggled.

"Uh…" Beast Boy could feel his face go red "Okay, now for real. Who is it?"

"I told you" she kept laughing her adorable girly laugh, her grin never escaping her face.

"Come on, stop messing with me!"

"I'm serious, BB" she confessed, blushing a bit "I've always been a huge fan of you"

The shapeshifter blinked repeatedly.

"Have you?"

She nodded.

"I always thought turning into animals had to be the coolest thing ever. So I couldn't believe it when I knew I was going to meet you" she flashed a warm smile that reached her baby blue eyes "I'm glad I did"

Beast Boy couldn't supress the smile that formed on his face.

"Heh… I never knew I had fans" he replied, scratching the back of his head "I'm glad I met you, too"

The pair smiled at each other for a while. Then, Pythia felt that she had to say something.

"So… uh… is Raven going to be cool about you hanging out with me?"

It took Beast Boy a minute to understand what the girl was trying to say. He then groaned in frustration.

"Oh, come on! Don't tell me you believe that crap they say on the tabloids"

"They actually say it everywhere… so it's not true? You two aren't together?" Pythia asked hopefully.

"No, we're…" he hesitated for a moment "we're just friends". It was easier for him to say the empath and him were just friends than to try to decipher their relationship, especially after their last days together.

Pythia beamed brightly.

"Cool! I was worried she'd be the jealous type, you know" she chuckled lightly "So, does that mean we can hang out again?"

She looked up at him, expectant. He looked back at her, smiling.

"You can bet on it"

* * *

The day after, feelings of guilt overcame Beast Boy. Starfire and Cyborg had already chatted with Raven and Robin claimed he would do it the next day, but he still couldn't bring himself to call her. He knew he couldn't keep delaying the inevitable, so he decided to imitate his friends, hoping that the empath would be available.

He couldn't contain the smile forming in his face when he saw her own on his computer screen.

"Hey! Sorry about yesterday, Rae"

"It's okay" Raven replied from the other side "I'm back from yet another failed cooking lesson, so I have some time"

On her laptop screen, Beast Boy furrowed his brows.

"Cooking lessons?"

The sorceress sighed.

"One of the downsides of living on my own is having to cook my own food" she answered "Now I know what it felt like to try my pancakes, and I'm very sorry for that"

The changeling chuckled at her sarcastic remark.

"How's it been, aside from burning food?"

"A bit rough. Things are very different here" she paused a second before continuing "But I guess I just have to get used to it"

"Hey, give some more details!" the shapeshifter complained, making the girl sigh in slight annoyance.

"Well, there are two steps between my door and my bed, I burn everything I cook, I sleep six hours a day if I'm lucky, the CEOs at the record company are greedy control freaks and the pub I sing at at night is full of drunk people and it smells worse than your room. Is that enough detail for you?" she replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, my room doesn't smell so bad!" he exaggeratedly waved his arms in protest.

"Well, I'm amazed that you can keep your heightened sense of smell, sleeping in there" Raven replied, rolling her eyes. She hoped the video quality wasn't good enough for him to see the corners of her lips turning upwards on their own accord. Why couldn't she keep her perfect poker face in front of him anymore? This had always been so easy for her…

Beast Boy huffed and crossed his arms.

"That's because I don't intoxicate myself with aromatic incense like you do"

"Rose-scented incense helps me meditate and relax" the half-demon said "But don't worry, I brought all of it with me, so you won't have to smell it again"

"Well, your room still stinks of it!"

Raven's eyes widened.

"You have been in my room!?"

Beast Boy covered his mouth, swearing under his breath. After she left, he had sneaked into her room several times, since her unique scent that he secretly loved hadn't left the place. Of course, it wasn't like he could tell her something like that.

"Uh… Robin asked me to make sure you hadn't forgotten anything" he lied, hoping she wouldn't catch him with her empathic powers and that he'd have enough time to convince his friend to go along with his little lie after the call.

Unfortunately, Raven wasn't called an empath for nothing.

"Why were you there?" she demanded.

"I… uh…" Beast Boy didn't seem able to form words anymore. He was visibly blushing, and he couldn't find a way out of that awkward situation. Suddenly, an idea came up to his mind, and he turned serious.

"Raven, can I ask you something in return?"

The changeling swallowed. This could be his chance to find out about that kiss. What if it did mean something? Then, maybe she wouldn't be mad at him for going in her room without permission. Maybe she'd be happy to know that he missed her so much…

"W-why did you…?"

"BB! Cyborg told me to come pick you up. Are you ready to go?"

Beast Boy cringed. Pythia was at the other side of the door, waiting for him. They had agreed to go to a video game store with Cyborg, which meant that his time with the sorceress was up.

"Sorry, Raven. I have to go now" he muttered "Robin said we could make a group chat on Sunday, if you're free"

"I think I'll be" she replied, seemingly calm as usual "Talk to you then"

After ending the video call, Raven's face fell. Why did that girl have to ruin everything? She could only talk to him roughly an hour every few days, while the clairvoyant was with him the whole day, everyday.

She had him everyday for herself… that wasn't a comforting thought. So she discarded it before it interfered with her daily activities.

* * *

Saturday came. The day Raven had been so excited about. She was a bit down because she hadn't have too much time to talk to her friends back in Jump City -besides Robin, with whom he had chatted for a short while- and her attempts at cooking had been as disastrous as the first -even though Elea hadn't given up on her just yet-, so the prospect of meeting her idol cheered her up like nothing before.

Mr. Stewart picked her up to take her to the veteran singer's house. It was a small but beautiful villa in the outskirts of the city, in a peaceful and quiet neighborhood. It had a small but lovely British garden flanking the way to her front door.

"You're going to do fine" the sorceress' manager reassured her "You'll learn a lot from her, you'll see"

Raven stared at the man, lost in thought.

"How did you convince her to do this?" she finally asked. The woman was very reserved about her private life, and she had practically disappeared from the public.

"I've known her for some time, she won't mind helping an old friend" he replied, smiling.

The man wished Raven luck and turned to leave, but he was intercepted by her.

"Mr. Stewart? Thank you… for everything"

The talent scout just smiled.

Once he got in the passenger seat of the car that brought them there, the empath turned to the house. It looked intimidating despite its beauty. She slowly made her way to the door and rang the doorbell. A brief and delicate melody sounded from it, and in an instant, the door opened to reveal Carmen Garland in person.

She was incredibly elegant, and as intimidating as the house itself. Towering over Raven, the woman was a true beauty despite her age. Her figure was still slim and her pale face was flawless, even with her first wrinkles starting to show. She wore her jet black hair in 50s water waves, and her eyes were the greenest Raven had ever seen, except maybe for her Tamaranean friend. Her clothes were simple but elegant, and she had put an obviously expensive perfume for their meeting. Her piercing stare was imposing, as was her presence itself. Her emotions were tangled and complex, and so it was hard for the empath to decipher what she was exactly feeling.

"I assume that you are my pupil" she said. Her voice was powerful even when she was just speaking.

The empath found that she was barely able to talk.

"My name is Raven Roth" she stuttered "It's an honor to meet you and be able to take lessons with you"

"Well, whatever, drop the formalities, kid" the woman chided her "I'm not such a big deal. Please come in" Though she was eager to disagree, Raven felt compelled to oblige.

The inside of the house was just luxurious. The marble floors, the ebony mobiliary and the delicately crafted decoration made it clear that this woman was rich. She guided the sorceress through the house, into a nice and cozy studio. It had a whole wall covered in shelves with books -a glance at them revealed Raven that most were music books-, a desk filled with papers, a sofa and a piano. The floor was decorated with an elegant cashmere carpet. There was also a pendulum clock on the wall, as well as several paintings that the empath recognized as rare pieces of expressionist art. Ms. Garland motioned the girl to sit on the sofa, and she took a seat at the piano.

"Well, let's get straight to the point. First of all, I want to see the range of your voice, so we're going to start with some sol-fa"

Raven recited all the notes she was able to register as the woman played them on the piano.

Ms. Garland nodded approvingly.

"Not bad, you're quite versatile. Let's try mixing it up"

She now played notes in random orders and contrasts, so it was harder for the starlet to follow her.

"You have a good control of your voice, but you need to get used to sudden changes in notes" the diva stood up "I'll make you some rose tea"

"Uh, thanks but I'm fine" Raven politely declined, not wanting to waste the precious and scarce time she had to learn with the woman.

"I won't take "no" for an answer" she stubbornly replied "Rose tea prevents and helps calm sore throats, and it helps you clear your voice before a concert. It's an essential safety measure to prevent all sorts of throat damage"

With that said, she left the sorceress alone in the studio. Normally, when someone tried to boss her around, she'd read them the riot act, but Ms. Garland was full of authority and confidence. Talking to her gave the empath the feeling of witnessing a wildfire, so she actually wanted to listen to her.

The older woman returned with two porcelain cups of herbal tea on a tray and sat with Raven on the sofa, not before offering her one of the cups.

"It's good as it is, but if you have a sore throat it's advisable to add lemon and honey" Ms. Garland explained.

The young woman took a sip from the cup.

"It's really good, thank you"

"So, George told me a bit about you" the singer commented "You gave up on being a heroine to become this. It's a pretty big commitment, isn't it?"

"It's my dream" Raven answered, feeling anxious about having to talk about herself and honored that Carmen Garland wanted to know about her. For the first time, she was able to recognize an emotion from the woman; mild curiosity. Along with lots of darkened feelings that were so mixed up that trying to separate and identify them made the girl's mind hazy.

"Dreams are pretty, darling, but they're just that" the veteran replied before sipping on her rose tea "Nothing's like we imagine in our dreams. You'd better remember that"

"What do you mean?"

The older woman locked eyes with the sorceress.

"This isn't the superhero biz, Raven" she finally said "This is the music industry. If you want to survive, don't trust anyone"

* * *

 **And that's the end of this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, leave a review if you did so! Also, please vote on my poll, it'll be active until I finish this story. See you!**


	5. A place to burn

**I really hope you enjoy this next chapter! Please leave a review so I can get some feedback, it's the best you can do for a writer, whether you are enjoying his stories or not. Also, remember to vote on my poll which story you'd like to read after this one.**

 _Chapter five: a place to burn_

A week after Raven's departure, the gossip press questioned her absence in Jump City. Pythia's welcoming party, though held in the privacy of the Titans Tower, hadn't gone unnoticed by the paparazzis. Soon, they intercepted the group after a mission and started their interrogation.

"Why is Raven not around? There's rumors that she has left the Titans and that Pythia is replacing her. Can you confirm that?" one of the pesky reporters asked Robin.

"I can confirm she's left the Titans for personal reasons, and that Pythia has taken on her role. That's all" the team leader tersely replied, hoping they'd just give up and leave. However, this only fuelled them further.

"Does her resignation have anything to do with her relationship with Beast Boy?" another reporter requested.

"As I said, she left because of personal reasons. I'm not elaborating on that" the Boy Wonder replied through gritted teeth. He had no patience to deal with the press.

"Do you have anything to say about this issue, Beast Boy?" they asked the green teen instead.

"No comment" he grumbled, moving away from the camera.

"Is it true that you have dumped Raven and started dating your new teammate?" another reporter pressed him.

"I said No. Comment." he growled.

All the reporters started to ask him questions at the same time. For all response, he just morphed into a nightingale and fled back to the T-Tower. He'd have to resource to holorings for his outings, at least until the paparazzi found a juicier story to milk.

Sighing, he took his game controller and turned on the TV. Maybe playing would get all the anger and frustration out of his system. With all the training, going on missions and hanging out with his teammates, he had barely had any time to contact Raven. And now he had to bear the press trying to confirm they were a couple?

Some soft footsteps interrupted his thoughts. He had quickly learnt to recognize them. They were Pythia's.

The heroine got into the ops room and sat on the couch beside the shapeshifter.

"Is everything okay?"

He shrugged.

"I guess I'm upset. I can't get to do anything because the press is always on my butt, trying to find out who I'm dating" he fumed "As if they truly cared!"

Pythia put a hand on his shoulder.

"I guess it's hard" she sympathetically replied "but you can't hide from them forever"

"Then what am I supposed to do? Let them stalk me and make crazy theories about my relationship status?" he complained, running his hands through his hair in frustration.

"There's another way, you know…" Pythia shyly hinted, looking at him straight in the eyes.

"How?"

"We could start dating" she mumbled, not daring to look at him anymore.

"Come on" the shapeshifter chuckled "You don't need to pity date me. They'll grow tired of all this eventually"

"I never said anything about pity dating…"

Beast Boy blushed, staring at the girl in disbelief. Was she really asking him out?

"I know we've just met, but…" she fidgeted with her fingers "Maybe we could try, you know, going on dates and stuff… to see where it leads us, if there's chemistry between us or we're better off as friends. What do you say?"

She finally looked up at his flustered face. He stared back at her blue eyes, not knowing very well what to say.

"Uh… I guess it'd be nice to try" he stammered, smiling coyly.

Beaming and giggling a bit, the girl threw herself into his arms.

"I'm so glad you said yes!" she exclaimed "I promise you won't regret it!"

After the initial shock and awkwardness, Beast Boy chuckled and patted her back. He would be lying if he said that the idea of dating Pythia didn't sound attractive to him. He turned off the GameStation and took the girl to the roof. There, he carried her back to the city as a pterodactyl. She was amazed at the sensation of floating on air and seeing the world from above. Then, they strolled around the city, blatantly ignoring the curious looks from Jump City's inhabitants or their gasps when she decided to take his hand. When the press found them and asked them about their relationship status, they just kept with the conversation they had been engaged in before the interruption. Paparazzis were extremely stressful, but even so it had been completely worth it.

Unbeknownst to them, Starfire had witnessed their outing. After pondering what to do, she resolved to find out what was going on between them. As Beast Boy's friend, it was her duty to be happy for him. As Raven's best friend, it was her duty to do everything in her power to wreck their blooming relationship. The Tamaranean princess didn't want to hurt Pythia, but she feared for the empath's well-being. She couldn't help but remembering how she had ended up in that alternative future, where she was insane and alone.

That evening, she visited the clairvoyant in her room. It already had some decoration and the walls had been painted baby blue. There were small porcelain figures and dolls everywhere, and the heroine had a huge shelf completely occupied by comic books.

"What do you need, Starfire?" Pythia friendly requested.

"I just wished to bond with you, so I thought that perhaps we could engage in the girl talk" the alien princess innocently suggested.

"Uh… do you really want to? I mean, I've only been here for a week, I understand if you still don't trust me enough to…"

"Nonsense!" the Tamaranean insisted, floating towards the brown-haired girl's bed "You are my friend, and so I wish to know more about you! Besides, we are the only girls in this team, so we must be glued together"

"Uh… do you mean 'stick together'?" Pythia couldn't help but giggling. She thought that Starfire's strange speech was adorable. The girl reminded her of a superpowered Little Mermaid.

"Of course!" the princess smiled warmly and patted a spot on the bed for the hypnotizer to sit in.

Pythia was overjoyed to join her friend. She had hoped to grow close to all of them, as they seemed to be really nice people. Starfire beamed and took out her brand new smartphone.

"Let us take the selfies!"

The two girls laughed and posed, even doing some shots with Silkie. They uploaded all of them to Maskbook, and then Starfire braided Pythia's hair while she petted the happy larva.

"Friend Pythia, may I ask you a question?"

"Shoot" she said, chuckling at the cute noises the team pet was producing.

"I have seen that you are spending much time with friend Beast Boy" she calmly stated, focused on her task "And he seems to be quite affectionate towards you. Tell me, are the two of you doing the dating?"

"So you noticed, huh?" the clairvoyant giggled "Yes, I asked him out. We're still getting to know each other, but I really like him"

"I am most happy to hear that! I was certain that he would not date again after Raven's departure…" the alien gasped loudly and covered her mouth with her hand, stopping her hairdressing job altogether.

Pythia turned to face her friend.

"What do you mean by that?" she questioned, blinking.

"My apologies, I was not supposed to say that… Do you wish to see a romantic movie with me now?" she tried to change the subject, but to no avail. It was too late to turn back now.

"Starfire, please" Pythia asked "If there's anything that might mean trouble for me, I'd rather know beforehand"

"Well" the redhead gave up "Some days before friend Raven left, she and Beast Boy used to go on friendly outings, and I believe that they had the feelings for each other"

"I see…" Pythia frowned.

"But worry not, my friend" the mighty warrior reassured her "Nothing has happened between them, so there shall be no problem if you date him"

"Well, as I said we're still getting to know each other, but I'll bear it in mind" the seeress replied "Thanks for telling me, Star. You're a really good friend"

After that conversation, the girls watched the romantic movie Starfire had suggested and kept talking about their crushes and the way they acted around the two females. Giggling filled the room until quite late, when the alien princess retired to her own room to sleep. Once there, she hugged Silkie tightly, but delicately so as not to hurt him with her strong arms.

"Oh, Silkie, I am not happy about what I have done" she lamented "But it was necessary. I will not let friend Raven lose her mind"

The girl knew she had planted the seeds of doubt in the clairvoyant's mind with her faked slip of the tongue. Now, all she had to do was to let those doubts grow, and Beast Boy and Pythia would be no more.

The day after, she'd have to break the bad news to Raven. She just hoped the empath would not be too hurt to listen to her plan, and that she'd be able to overcome the regret she was feeling right now.

* * *

"Are you okay?"

Raven and Elea were in the middle of a cooking lesson. The former was absentmindedly pouring sugar on the ready-made salad the girls had bought for dinner. She didn't seem to notice that the jar in her hands wasn't filled with salt, despite clearly being labelled as something else entirely.

"Yeah, why are you asking?" her response had come a bit more terse than she had intended.

"You seem… I don't know, it's like there's been something in your mind these last days" the brunette replied, more worried than upset by her comment.

Raven sighed.

"I'm fine. Now if you don't mind, I'll go talk to my friends for a bit"

"Don't you want to have dinner?"

"Well, it's not like that's going to get cold" she replied, raising an eyebrow.

The empath left the kitchen. Even though she had noticed a lot of progress after her lessons with Ms. Garland, she couldn't forget the cryptic words she had told her. The woman had refused to elaborate any further on her advice, only her emotions giving away slightly bitter turns, so the half-demon was completely shaken by their conversation and unable to understand the possible cause for such a strange warning.

Once in her room, she turned on her laptop to talk to Starfire. They hadn't talked since their group video chat on Sunday, and though she'd never admit it aloud, she was always eager to see her friends' faces, and a bit upset when she couldn't.

However, when her best friend's visage appeared on the screen, the sorceress immediately tensed up. The alien's emotions screamed that something was wrong.

"What happened?" Raven saw no point in talking about anything else before moving to whatever was troubling her best friend. She preferred to go straight to the point.

The redhead averted her gaze for a moment.

"Friend Raven… I have bad news for you. Beast Boy and Pythia… they are doing the dating"

The violet-haired girl stared at the screen in silence.

"They are at a very early stage, so it is not something truly serious yet"

Silence.

"Upon questioning her, she has confided in me that they have agreed to go on dates in order to see how the things turn out for them" Starfire explained.

"Oh, so you have been bonding with her" Raven interrupted her, clenching her fists.

"I was doing the fishing!" the alien protested.

"Is that why you have all those photos together?" the girl on the screen opened her mouth to reply, but Raven cut her "Don't think I haven't seen your profile!"

"She is not a bad person, friend Raven! She is my friend and I treat her as such, but I completely support you in your quest to gain Beast Boy's affection!" the girl said, trying to defend herself.

"Sure, she's a _really_ nice girl" the empath responded through gritted teeth "She's so nice that she's already replaced me"

Starfire shouted something, tears welling in her eyes, but Raven cut the call and turned off her computer. All the lightbulbs in the humble apartment flickered and exploded, making Elea yelp. Random objects in the half-demon's room started to levitate. Two giant plushies got encased in dark energy and their heads were ripped off, sending fluff everywhere.

In the middle of the wreckage, Raven silently wept.

* * *

Despite her friends' best efforts, no one was able to contact Raven again after her conversation with Starfire. They boys figured that she was very busy at the time, but the heroine knew otherwise. However, the promise she'd made Raven of not telling any of their male friends about her feelings for Beast Boy made it impossible for her to talk about it. So the only thing left for her to do was to keep trying reach her best friend. She wouldn't give up on her.

At the other end of the country, Raven didn't seem to be functional anymore. She had quit her cooking lessons, just taking whatever was in the fridge and eating much less than advisable. Her performance at _Wonderland_ wasn't the same anymore, and while she had finished the process of polishing her old songs, she hadn't been able to add music to any of them. Again, she was surrounded by experts -it was surprising that no one sold the information about her whereabouts to the press by then- but nothing she created was of her liking. It was then that Mr. Stewart decided to approach her.

"Look, we don't have to talk about this, but I've seen this behavior before" he said "And it won't bring you any good"

"Then what am I supposed to do?" she talked so little that hearing her own voice was starting to feel strange.

"Take it out. Don't you need more songs for your album?" he questioned. It was true, she didn't have enough songs for an album with those that had made the cut "Then write what you're feeling in song. Do what you do best"

The empath stared at the man for a while, debating what to do. When she got home that day, she didn't sulk in her room like the previous days. She took some pieces of paper and a pen and started to write.

She poured all her feelings of loneliness and heartbreak into the paper. It had been years since she last wrote a song, but it came naturally for her, as if it had been yesterday. In her brief free time, she had filled pages and pages with black ink. She wouldn't let anyone proofread those songs; they represented this new stage of her life and they were perfect as they were.

Feeling an odd and familiar satisfaction, she got ready for her rehearsal and later concert, but not before making a phone call.

"Josh?" she was calling one of his musicians. They had agreed that it'd be practical to exchange their phone numbers in order to agree on the songs they'd be playing "I've made up my mind on today's songs"

"That's great news!" he answered from the other side. Lately, she hadn't bothered in choosing, leaving that task to him.

The sorceress sang the saddest songs that night.

She was perfectly in tune with the lyrics and melodies, and her performance visibly improved. People in the pub were once again taken aback by her powerful voice, and so they cheered to her return.

Each song hurt her like a dagger, but she had finally understood that she could turn the pain into something better. Something worth suffering for.

She was doing music. The one thing she loved the most. And so, her feelings of heartbreak mixed with pride and joy to form something unique she had no words to describe, other than beautiful.

And so, she made her decision.

She was going to make it.

* * *

Robin caressed his girlfriend's back and left trails of kisses down her neck. Soft, slow and sweet. Just like he knew she loved it, and he did too. It was a perfect moment.

That is, until she carefully pushed him away.

"I am sorry, my beloved" she apologized "but I am afraid that I am not in the mood for the making out"

The Boy Wonder blinked behind his mask. This didn't happen very often, and the strangely dull tone of her voice made him question if something was wrong.

"It's okay, Star" he replied, smiling. He didn't want her to think he was upset about her saying no. It was her decision, so he respected it.

The alien girl returned a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"I shall go to my room now. I need to do the tidying up"

The princess sighed loudly upon entering her room. She had been trying nonstop to contact Raven, to no avail. She was starting to fear that she had lost her friend for good, and it was a really bitter thought.

However, something brought her to try once more. She turned on her laptop and logged into Maskbook. Then, she gasped in utter shock.

She had a private message from Raven.

Hurriedly, the red-haired girl opened it and read it, getting more and more excited.

 _Are you free? I'd like to talk to you. Sorry about what happened._

A sigh of relief escaped the princess' lips. She quickly made a video call, which Raven soon picked up to her delight.

"Hi" the violet-haired girl shyly said "Uh… I'll be direct; I'm sorry. I treated you horribly and…"

"MY DEAREST FRIEND!" Starfire was unable to contain her joy "I was afraid that you would never want to talk to me again! I am so sorry for our last conversation, I promise I never meant to abandon you or replace you, I…"

"It's okay" Raven interrupted her best friend's rant "I'm the one who should apologize. I overreacted, I didn't even listen to you. You have your right to make new friends, that doesn't change our friendship"

"Friend Raven" Starfire turned serious "When I said that I support you, I meant it. I have spread the doubts in Pythia about Beast Boy"

Raven raised an eyebrow.

"What have you done exactly"

"I told her about your secret dates" she said. Noticing the empath's widened eyes, she quickly kept talking "I did it so she would think that he has the feelings for you, which I am certain that he has"

"That's not true Starfire! You have lied to her!" the sorceress was astounded by her best friend's actions. She definitely didn't want that.

"I have done no such thing" the princess stood her ground "But I did make clear that Pythia has competition"

"No, he's probably happy with her" the half-demon complained "You can't just sabotage their relationship"

"But I do not wish for you to be heartbroken!"

"If you do this, he'll be the one with a broken heart" Raven replied "I don't want that to happen because of me"

After a moment, Starfire answered.

"It will not, friend Raven"

" _It will happen because of_ me" she thought. Her best friend couldn't see what lay ahead for her if she ended up alone. So she didn't care about what she just said; she'd do everything in her power to change her grim fate.

* * *

Months slowly passed, and Raven made great advances in her album and her singing. She decided to only make Sunday group calls from then onward so she could completely focus on her album. It was slowly taking shape, and each progress absorbed her further into her project. Besides, it was the only effective way for her to deal with her feelings of heartbreak. When word got to her that Beast Boy and Pythia were officially a couple, she had become almost as reclusive as when she found out they were starting to date, but this time she didn't destroy anything; she created.

It was the favorite of all her songs, and it perfectly captured her feelings of heartbreak, loss and longing. When it was composed and recorded, she immediately told Mr. Stewart that she wanted to record a music video for it. Her manager had been completely supportive of her, and he seemed marvelled by her passion and dedication. He praised her every effort, encouraging her to keep trying her hardest. So it was only natural that he would assist her in her new idea.

The day came. _Wonderland_ was fuller than any other night. Raven had grown used to the place, as well as its customers. She was no longer uncomfortable in that hellhole, so she wanted it to be _the place._ The place for her to burn.

It would probably be her last concert in there, so she had chosen the most fitting songs for it, apart from her soon-to-be first single. Still in her holorings, everyone looked at her expectantly, as they had grown used to her presence as well and started to demand her songs as soon as she entered the pub. If Elea had any sort of problems with this circumstance, she never voiced it. She just drank away her insecurities and sang the best she could.

Raven took the microphone, staring at the crowd. She had to tell them, they had the right to know.

"Hello again, everyone" she greeted, already smiling a bit "This is a very special night for me. I'm going to start advertising my album, so it's going to be harder for me to come by" sloppy noises of protest could be heard in the background "However, I won't forget the time I spent here, crafting my dream. Thank you all for your support"

Everyone in the pub cheered to her success. She waited for them to stop and made another announcement.

"Also… I think you deserve to know this" she added "Barry gave my company permission to record my first single's music video in here, so that means one thing"

"We're gonna be on YouTube!" a drunk man cheerfully chimed in, raising his jar of beer.

"Aside from that" the empath added "It means that I have to reveal my true identity. As you might have guessed, 'Rachel Roth' is not my real name. However, it's more than a stage name, as well"

The then bumped her fists together to deactivate her holorings, revealing her true gray self.

"It's my secret identity"

 _Wonderland_ went crazy that night.

* * *

It was time for her last song. The atmosphere had become somewhat melancholic. She never expected to become those drunkards' idol, yet there she was, the center of that strange circle.

"I know this might be a bit cliché, but I thought it'd be fitting…"

 _Start spreading the news, I'm leaving today…_

 **That's it for this chapter. Also, shameless reference to The Name of the Wind is shameless. See you on the next one, don't forget to review and vote!**


	6. I'll do it on my own

**Here's the next chapter! Sorry about the delay, I might not be able to update as fast as before during this month. However, I'll try my best to make up for it. I do need your support, though, so please keep reviewing and sending your feedback. My poll is still open for you to vote, too. Enjoy!**

 _Chapter six: I'll do it on my own_

The Titans were reunited in the ops room for dinner. They had decided to leave the TV on, just in case there were important news. The team was chatting and eating the meal Cyborg had prepared for them –except for Beast Boy, who settled for his own vegan dinner. As minutes went on, the gossip section started. Robin was about to change the channel when something caught his attention.

" _The former heroine known as Raven resigned from her activities as a Teen Titan several months ago. Her whereabouts remained unknown until now. Jump Up Records has released a music video featuring the sorceress, singing at an unknown pub. She has surprised everyone with an excellent and emotional song that is sure to pull at everyone's heartstrings. This new and mysterious music star has made no claims towards this song as of yet, but Jump Up's representants told our team of reporters to expect more surprises from the former heroine"_

"Raven's published a song!" Cyborg exclaimed "We oughta listen to it"

As if on cue, the music video was shown at the programme. It had been recorded live. Raven was on stage, showing her true appearance, and she started to sing as her musicians accompanied her. It was a slow, simple song, with no ostentatious musical arrangements. It made the Titans focus on her and her voice, and it was hypnotizing, like falling on Pythia's spell. No one moved or uttered a single word until it was over.

"Wow. That was…"

Cyborg scratched the back of his head and shook it. He had no words to describe it.

"I am certain that we all have a new favorite song" Starfire chimed in, clasping her hands together and beaming brightly "Do you not agree with me, friend Beast Boy?"

Beast Boy seemed to be in another world. It took a gentle nudge from his girlfriend for him to return to the world of the living

"Uh… yeah… it was… nice"

"Friend, qualifying this as 'nice' is no less than an insult. It is a masterpiece!" the alien princess gently scolded him.

Pythia couldn't help a frown from forming on her face. Why was her boyfriend blushing?

"Sorry, Star, you're 100% right"

* * *

Beast Boy hit the replay button for the tenth time.

Ever since he heard Raven's song on TV, he couldn't get it out of his head, and he found himself listening to it again and again in his room. His life had taken a turn for the better when he started dating Pythia, who he now called Marie due to their closeness. She was such a nice girl, they always had lots of fun together and she wasn't afraid of publicly displaying her love. She was all he could have asked for.

So he didn't realize how much he still missed Raven until he heard her sing again. It was such a sweet sound… he could count on his fingers the rare occasions he had got to hear her. Aside from her performance at that Harajuku karaoke bar, he had secretly heard her sing something to herself in her room. On times like those, he was really thankful for having such sensitive ears.

It was then that it truly struck him; he'd hear her sing a lot from then on. She had already released a song that would become her promotional single, and he found himself trapped in the melody of the soft and husky lull that was her voice. Besides, he got to see her again. The thought brought a smile to the changeling's face. She was still as beautiful as when she left. The sorceress wore a white dress that reminded the shapeshifter of the one she had worn for their first "date". Then, he couldn't help but remembering their last night at the beach, when the moon glowed on her skin and the waves kissed her figure…

It wasn't a good thing to think about.

Sighing, Beast Boy hit the replay button for the eleventh time. There were already more than a million views on the video…

Soon enough, Raven's first performance at _Wonderland_ made it to the internet, too. She had told the changeling about Carmen Garland, and the song she performed was probably the most famous the artist had created. He wasn't much of a music savvy, but to him, she had aced it. And thus, his thoughts started to drift towards her once again. During the time he had been dating Marie, he had been mainly focused on the beautiful clairvoyant, but listening to the sorceress' songs brought back lots of memories. He didn't know when it started, but in his free time he started to search for news about her, anything that could give him a clue about what she was doing at the moments. Group chats didn't do the trick anymore and he couldn't talk to her in private, so this was his way of keeping up. Her song was used for a romantic scene in a TV show Pythia liked. He became interested in it, whilst she stopped watching it altogether. When questioned about it, she just stated that the plot had become garbage.

He wondered if it was the right thing to do. However, what else could he do?

* * *

Raven carried a small suitcase as she walked into the hotel. It had become her newest routine; to travel around the world to promote herself by performing the song she had just released at concerts or music programmes. It was exhausting, but at least she was promoting herself in a way that made sense. She always took her laptop with her so she could work on her album. She had taken some sound editing lessons so she didn't have to wait to be back in New York in order to keep supervising the album production. This meant that she spent all of the little free time she now had working, with some pauses for meditation. Jet lag was becoming a part of her everyday life, so she couldn't skip a single session in order to remain calm. Or at least calm enough not to tear anything to pieces. Again.

The sorceress accessed her room and started to unpack her belongings when she heard a knock on her door. She opened it to reveal Mr. Stewart, who had accompanied her in most of her campaign.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

"I think we've overdone it a bit by coming to Amsterdam" she sighed in protest.

"Not at all, the more promotion the better! he replied "besides, you're already a celebrity, which means many music programmes will want to host one of your performances. We have to take this chance"

"I really hope I don't have to do this after the album's out" the former heroine muttered.

"Dear, when the album comes out you'll have to go on concert tours and music festivals!" Mr. Stewart chuckled "You'll have to travel quite often, so it's actually better for you if you get used to it now"

"Whatever…"

" _So my new life is going to be like my missions against the Brotherhood of Evil…"_

* * *

People backstage shot furtive glances at her. Even if she weren't an empath, she could have felt their curiosity towards her. What pushed a successful heroine like her to change her career so suddenly? Did she keep in touch with her former teammates? What was her personal life like? She knew those were the questions the press had been posing about her. She had read some articles about herself, hoping that she would find some useful feedback. Alas, mainstream magazines couldn't care any less about her singing, and music magazines were too technical and unable to give her the general audience's opinion. It was a bit frustrating, but she knew she'd have to bear with it for the time being.

She slipped into her long dress. For some reason, she felt more comfortable wearing white in concerts. It made her feel at ease, almost as if she were a regular girl making a dream come true. It was almost as if her own Rage didn't bite at her consciousness, constantly threatening to take control. When she was a Titan, she'd only wear white when she was feeling complete inner peace. Which wasn't too often.

If everything worked like she hoped, it would all be worth it.

The empath sat on a chair and let someone put makeup on her face and blue roses on her hair. She had been worried that they'd attract too much attention, but then she remembered that she'd be on the spotlight. She was going to attract _a lot_ of attention. As usual.

Once ready, she waited in front of the stage door for her name to be called.

The TV presenter introduced her, and like she had done many times in many other programmes, she stepped on stage, wondering if she'd ever stop getting nervous about singing in public. Mentally reciting her mantra, she took the microphone and started to sing her song.

 _I saw you look at me, I heard you speak and laugh_

 _And the world I thought I knew turned upside-down_

 _I saw you smile and for a moment_

 _I forgot about everything wrong about my life_

 _I saw colors I never knew existed_

 _I heard music that had never been sung_

" _Not again"_ she thought, as she discretely wiped a tear that threatened to fall from her eye. It was always the same; she couldn't sing that song without thinking of _him._ And she couldn't think of _him_ without crying.

* * *

Beast Boy felt his heart skip a beat.

Raven had released a new song.

He immediately clicked on the play button to hear it. Compared to her first music video, this one had a very low quality and appeared to have been recorded directly from a computer. It contained fragments of the sorceress' broadcasted concerts. However, the song was just as good and addictive as the previous one. The changeling soon found himself trapped in her music, once more…

And then that _damned_ alarm had to ring and ruin everything.

He raced towards the ops room, hoping it was important. The somber look on Robin's face told him that it indeed was. The team leader silently pointed at the TV screen, which showed the white monster that had appeared after the team's return from the missions against the Brotherhood of Evil.

"No way, man! We already kicked that thing's butt!" Cyborg gasped.

Robin narrowed his eyes behind his mask.

"It seems we didn't kick it hard enough"

The Titans got into the T-car and raced to the place the creature was attacking. It was at the beach now, terrorizing the civilians which went for a walk down the coastal promenade. It turned into the concrete from the floor and smashed the trashcans, hotdog stands and street lamps nearby. Then, an explosive disk collided with the creature and burst.

"It's the end of the line for you!" Robin shouted "Titans, GO!"

He threw more of his explosive disks, but this time the monster dodged them. Cyborg and Starfire made a combined attack of his sonic cannon and her eyebeams, but the white monster reached the sand, turning into it so their attacks couldn't hurt it. As a gorilla, Beast Boy punched its elusive form with his mighty fists, to no avail since he barely hurt the creature. However, he did prevent it from reaching the sea; if it did, it would be impossible for the heroes to track it down. Robin saw his opportunity and threw an ice disk that partially froze the monster. It seemed that this would grant the Titans the upper hand, but their enemy swiftly turned its whole body into ice and punched Beast Boy at almost superhuman speed. The hit didn't knock him out, but it prevented him from keeping with his onslaught, if only for a moment. It was more than enough for the creature to slip out of his reach. It was then that Pythia leapt into action.

She sneaked next to the monster and raised her arms. Her eyes glowed blue and she felt her power coursing through her being. She aimed it at the creature, putting pressure on its consciousness… but nothing happened. She frowned and pressed further, but there was not a single crack in its mind. It was as if it was sealed, just like Cyborg's when she had tried to hypnotized him when in autopilot.

So concentrated she was that she didn't see its ice punch coming.

Pythia flew through the air and fell against an outside table from a café. Her vision momentaneously blackened and she could only hear a loud ringing in her ears. When she recovered, she saw Beast Boy's worried face.

"Are you okay?" he frantically asked, helping her stand.

"I think so" she croaked. That thing had hit her hard.

Meanwhile, Cyborg had switched his cannon to high power. Starfire threw starbolts and Robin attacked the monster with more explosive disks, quickly making the creature go into the half-robot's direction.

He shot his sonic cannon once more, and the white monster was torn into pieces.

This time, they wouldn't leave empty-handed. The eldest hero pulled out an airtight vial and retrieved some of his foe's remains before they disintegrated. He then looked at Robin and nodded, making his friend sigh in relief. At least now they'd be able to know what their enemy was…

Before the issue could be discussed, he approached the newest couple in the tower in order to treat Pythia's wounds.

* * *

"How are you feeling?"

Pythia blinked and looked at her right, where her boyfriend was sitting, eyeing her worriedly. She was lying on a bed at the med station. Cyborg told her she had broken two ribs and she had several bruises, as well as a bump on her head. He also said she was lucky she didn't crack her head open.

"Well, I've seen better days" she managed to chuckle. It hurt a bit to do so.

"I got really scared when I saw you fall against that table, you know" the shapeshifter whispered, looking down.

The forlorn look on his face made the hypnotist feel guilty. She had been horribly moody lately, and all because he liked a song from a girl he used to like. She had let jealousy get the best of her, when it was clear that he loved her and only her. Even if he hadn't said it yet.

"Sorry I got you worried" she sighed dreamily, half expecting her beau to confess his undying love for her right on the spot.

"Don't be" he said instead "I've felt like this before, when…" he paused for a split-second "whenever I saw the others in danger. But I've learned to accept it as part of the superhero biz"

"I see…"

"Anyway, let's try to protect each other, okay?" he suggested, caressing the girl's rosey cheek "I don't want to see you hurt…"

She cupped her boyfriend's green face with her hand and pulled him into a soft kiss.

"Protect me, and I will protect you, BB"

* * *

Starfire shuddered.

She made a mental note to always make an aggressive approach whenever Robin got in obsessed mode. Their current makeout session was, by far, the most passionate they had had until then. His fingers traced her curves slowly, almost painfully. His lips only left hers to find their way down her long neck, leaving a trace of desire that intoxicated her mind. The alien princess had to constantly remind herself of her own super strength, so as to be gentle and not grip his hair too hard.

Then, at that blissful and perfect moment, someone knocked on the door.

"Rob?" Cyborg's voice could be heard from the other side "I've got the results"

And as fast as it had appeared, her beloved's passion drowned into his renewed obsession.

"I'm coming" he said, after clearing his throat.

He didn't even take the time to apologize for leaving her hanging like that.

Starfire wished she could nova his room up.

* * *

"You're not going to like this"

It had taken him hours to analyze the white monster's remains. The amount of metal in them made it clear their enemy was robotic, but its morphing powers seemed to come from an organic source. Finding said source, however, had proven an extremely hard and tiresome task that took up a lot of the half-robot's wit and patience.

"I'd never seen that organic compound before, it's not something you can find in a natural environment" he explained.

"So it's artificial?" Robin questioned.

"You could say that" Cyborg continued "It took me hours of searching through ten different element databases to finally find its components. Look, this is the one that caught my attention"

The Boy Wonder stared at the compound Cyborg signaled in his report.

"Solucite? Never heard of it"

"It's an extremely rare mineral from outer space. The organic part of that thing's body seems to be partially made from that"

"Does this mean that our attackers are aliens? Do you think it could be the Gordanians?" the Boy Wonder questioned.

"That's what I thought at first" Cyborg conceded "But after some further investigation, I found this very juicy classified information from the Justice League superhero database"

Robin turned the page of the report and speed read it. His expression became more somber as he advanced.

"The orb of Ra? Isn't that artifact in Metamorpho's power?"

"It's supposed to, but it's the only object on Earth made from solucite" Cyborg sighed.

Both friends fell quiet, not wanting to address the elephant in the room. If that white monster had been created with the orb, then the creature would become the Justice League's responsibility, which not only meant the Titans would have less freedom to act; but also that their problem was a lot bigger than they had thought.

* * *

 **That's it for now. If you liked this chapter, please tell me so. If you didn't, tell me too, it's the only way for me to improve. Please remember that my poll is still open. What would you like me to write about after In The Blue Dark? Your opinion matters to me, so I want to hear it!**

 **See you on the next one, remember to be nice!**


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